{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,9]],"date-time":"2026-07-09T12:06:41Z","timestamp":1783598801081,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":54,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,26]],"date-time":"2023-04-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1682467200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Vet. Sci."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Q fever in animals and humans and its economic and public health significance has been widely reported worldwide but in South Africa. There are few studies on the prevalence of this zoonosis and its associated risk factors in South African livestock. Therefore, a cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence, molecular prevalence, and risk factors associated with <jats:italic>C. burnetii<\/jats:italic> in cattle on farms in South Africa\u2019s Limpopo province. Out of 383 cattle tested for antibodies, the overall seroprevalence was 24.28%. Herd size of &amp;gt;150 (OR: 9.88; 95%CI: 3.92\u201324.89; <jats:italic>p\u2009&amp;lt;<\/jats:italic> 0.01) remained associated with <jats:italic>C. burnetii<\/jats:italic> seropositivity in cattle. For PCR detection, targeting IS<jats:italic>1111<\/jats:italic> fragment, cattle with no abortion history (OR: 0.37; 95%CI: 0.18\u20130.77; <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u2009&amp;lt;\u20090.01) and herd size of &amp;gt;150 (OR: 3.52; 95%CI: 1.34\u20139.24; <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u2009&amp;lt;\u20090.01) remained associated with <jats:italic>C. burnetii<\/jats:italic> positivity. The molecular prevalence in sheath scrapings and vaginal swabs by IS<jats:italic>1111<\/jats:italic> PCR was 15.67%. Cohen\u2019s kappa agreement test revealed a fair agreement between the PCR and ELISA results (<jats:italic>k<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u20090.40). Sequence analysis revealed that the amplicons had similarities to the <jats:italic>C. burnetii<\/jats:italic> transposase gene fragment, confirming the presence of the pathogen. The higher seroprevalence than molecular prevalence indicated a past <jats:italic>C. burnetii<\/jats:italic> infection, no bacterial shedding through vaginal mucus in cows, or preputial discharge in bulls. Similarly, the detection of <jats:italic>C. burnetii<\/jats:italic> by PCR in the absence of antibodies could be partly explained by recent infections in which antibodies have not yet been produced against the bacteria, or the level of these antibodies was below the detectability threshold. The presence of the pathogen in cattle and the evidence of exposure, as shown by both PCR and ELISA suggests an active circulation of the pathogen. This study demonstrated that <jats:italic>C. burnetii<\/jats:italic> is widespread in the study area and that a herd size of &amp;gt;150 is associated with <jats:italic>C. burnetii<\/jats:italic> seroprevalence and molecular prevalence.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fvets.2023.1101988","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,26]],"date-time":"2023-04-26T06:17:17Z","timestamp":1682489837000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":15,"title":["Prevalence and risk factors of Q fever (Coxiella burnetii) in cattle on farms of Limpopo province, South Africa"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"10","author":[{"given":"Vhahangwele","family":"Sadiki","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nomakorinte","family":"Gcebe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maruping L.","family":"Mangena","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yusuf B.","family":"Ngoshe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Abiodun A.","family":"Adesiyun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"115","DOI":"10.1128\/CMR.00045-16","article-title":"From Q fever to Coxiella burnetii infection: a paradigm change","volume":"30","author":"Eldin","year":"2017","journal-title":"Clin Mmicrobiol Rev"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0250116","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0250116","article-title":"Molecular detection of Coxiella burnetii infection in aborted samples of domestic ruminants in Iran","volume":"16","author":"Mohabati Mobarez","year":"2021","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"65","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tifs.2017.11.004L508","article-title":"Q fever and prevalence of Coxiella burnetii in Milk","volume":"71","author":"Pexara","year":"2018","journal-title":"Trends Food Sci Technol"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"427","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(86)92380-9","article-title":"Q fever pneumonia associated with exposure to wild rabbits","volume":"327","author":"Marrie","year":"1986","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"47","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijfoodmicro.2016.08.008","article-title":"Occurrence of Coxiella burnetii in goat and ewe unpasteurized cheeses: screening and genotyping","volume":"237","author":"Galiero","year":"2016","journal-title":"Int J Food Microbiol"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"513","DOI":"10.4269\/ajtmh.12-0169","article-title":"Coxiella burnetii in humans, domestic ruminants, and ticks in rural western Kenya","volume":"88","author":"Knobel","year":"2013","journal-title":"J Natl Malaria Soc"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"652","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens9080652","article-title":"Comparison of Coxiella burnetii excretion between sheep and goats naturally infected with one cattle-associated genotype","volume":"9","author":"Bauer","year":"2020","journal-title":"Pathogens"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.4102\/ojvr.v84i1.1461","article-title":"Seroprevalence and risk factors for Coxiella burnetii, the causative agent of Q fever in the dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius) population in Algeria","volume":"84","author":"Benaissa","year":"2017","journal-title":"Onderstepoort J Vet Res"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"148","DOI":"10.1080\/01652176.2013.843809","article-title":"Clinical microbiology of Coxiella burnetii and relevant aspects for the diagnosis and control of the zoonotic disease Q fever","volume":"33","author":"Roest","year":"2013","journal-title":"Vet Q"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"258","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens10030258","article-title":"Q fever: Seroprevalence, risk factors in slaughter livestock and genotypes of Coxiella burnetii in South Africa","volume":"10","author":"Mangena","year":"2021","journal-title":"Pathogens"},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"505","DOI":"10.1016\/j.idc.2008.03.002","article-title":"Q fever","volume":"22","author":"Tissot-Dupont","year":"2008","journal-title":"Infect Dis Clin North Am"},{"key":"ref12","first-page":"21","article-title":"A review of the disease and the results of a serosurvey of humans, cattle, goats and dogs","volume":"83","author":"Kelly","year":"1993","journal-title":"SAMJ, S. 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