{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,1]],"date-time":"2026-06-01T13:07:43Z","timestamp":1780319263752,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,11]],"date-time":"2023-08-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1691712000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100010221","name":"Higher Education Commision, Pakistan","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["I-8\/HEC\/HRD\/2021\/11529"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["I-8\/HEC\/HRD\/2021\/11529"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100010221","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"<jats:p><jats:italic>Coxiella burnetii<\/jats:italic> is the zoonotic pathogen that causes Q fever; it is widespread globally. Livestock animals are its main reservoir, and infected animals shed <jats:italic>C<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>burnetii<\/jats:italic> in their birth products, feces, vaginal mucus, urine, tissues, and food obtained from them, i.e., milk and meat. There were previously very few reports on the prevalence of <jats:italic>C<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>burnetii<\/jats:italic> in raw meat. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of <jats:italic>C<\/jats:italic>.<jats:italic>burnetii<\/jats:italic> and its molecular characterization in raw ruminant meat from the Kasur and Lahore districts in Punjab, Pakistan, as this has not been reported so far. In this study, 200 meat samples, 50 from each species of cattle, buffalo, goat, and sheep, were collected from the slaughterhouses in each district, Kasur and Lahore in 2021 and 2022. PCR was used for the detection of the <jats:italic>IS1111<\/jats:italic> element of <jats:italic>C<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>burnetii<\/jats:italic>. The data were recorded and univariate analysis was performed to determine the frequency of <jats:italic>C<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>burnetii<\/jats:italic> DNA in raw meat samples obtained from different ruminant species using the SAS 9.4 statistical package. Of the total of 200 raw meat samples, <jats:italic>C<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>burnetii<\/jats:italic> DNA was present in 40 (20%) of them, tested by PCR using the <jats:italic>IS1111<\/jats:italic> sequence. The prevalence of <jats:italic>C<\/jats:italic>.<jats:italic>burnetii<\/jats:italic> differed among the studied species of ruminants. When species were compared pairwise, the prevalence in cattle was statistically significantly lower than in sheep (P = 0.005). The sequence alignment based on origin implied that the strains are genetically diverse in different districts of Punjab, Pakistan. The findings demonstrated that the prevalence of <jats:italic>C<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>burnetii<\/jats:italic>, especially in raw meat samples, deserves more attention from the health care system and professionals from Punjab, Pakistan, i.e., abattoir workers and veterinarians.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0289944","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,11]],"date-time":"2023-08-11T17:22:19Z","timestamp":1691774539000},"page":"e0289944","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Molecular detection of Coxiella burnetii in raw meat samples collected from different abattoirs in districts Kasur and Lahore of Punjab, Pakistan"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Shahpal","family":"Shujat","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wasim","family":"Shehzad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aftab Ahmad","family":"Anjum","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Julia A.","family":"Hertl","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6055-4812","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Muhammad Yasir","family":"Zahoor","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yrj\u00f6 T.","family":"Gr\u00f6hn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,11]]},"reference":[{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0289944.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"115","DOI":"10.1128\/CMR.00045-16","article-title":"From Q fever to Coxiella burnetii infection: a paradigm change","volume":"30","author":"C Eldin","year":"2017","journal-title":"Clinical microbiology reviews"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0289944.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"518","DOI":"10.1128\/CMR.12.4.518","article-title":"Q fever","volume":"12","author":"M Maurin","year":"1999","journal-title":"Clinical microbiology reviews"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0289944.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"505","DOI":"10.1016\/j.idc.2008.03.002","article-title":"Q fever","volume":"22","author":"H Tissot-Dupont","year":"2008","journal-title":"Infectious disease clinics of North 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