{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,25]],"date-time":"2026-09-25T03:26:20Z","timestamp":1790306780016,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,23]],"date-time":"2023-03-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1679529600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100002301","name":"Estonian Research Council health promotion research program TerVE","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["3.2.1002.11-0002"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["3.2.1002.11-0002"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100002301","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Microorganisms"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Q fever, a disease caused by Coxiella burnetii (CB), is an emerging zoonotic health problem. The prevalence data from potential sources are valuable for assessing the risk to human and animal health. To estimate the prevalence of CB antibodies in Estonian ruminants, pooled milk and serum samples from cattle (Bos taurus) and pooled serum samples from sheep (Ovis aries) and goats (Capra hircus) were analyzed. Additionally, bulk tank milk samples (BTM; n = 72) were analyzed for the presence of CB DNA. Questionnaires and herd-level datasets were used to identify the risk factors for exposure using binary logistic regression analysis. The prevalence of CB-positive dairy cattle herds (27.16%) was significantly higher than that in beef cattle herds (6.67%) and sheep flocks (2.35%). No CB antibodies were detected in the goat flocks. CB DNA was found in 11.36% of the BTM samples. The odds of seropositivity were higher in dairy cattle herds, with an increasing number of cattle in the herd, and with location in southwestern, northeastern and northwestern Estonia. Dairy cattle herds had higher odds of testing positive for CB in BTM if the dairy cows were kept loose and lower odds if the herd was located in northwestern Estonia.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms11040819","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,23]],"date-time":"2023-03-23T03:07:57Z","timestamp":1679540877000},"page":"819","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":13,"title":["Coxiella burnetii Seroprevalence and Associated Risk Factors in Cattle, Sheep, and Goats in Estonia"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6538-5675","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"K\u00e4di","family":"Neare","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Chair of Veterinary Biomedicine and Food Hygiene, Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, 51006 Tartu, Estonia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6478-7047","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lea","family":"Tummeleht","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Chair of Veterinary Biomedicine and Food Hygiene, Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, 51006 Tartu, Estonia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1745-1516","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Brian","family":"Lassen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Group for Foodborne Pathogens and Epidemiology, National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0133-980X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Arvo","family":"Viltrop","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Chair of Veterinary Biomedicine and Food Hygiene, Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, 51006 Tartu, Estonia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) (2010). Scientific Opinion on Q fever. EFSA J., 8, 1595.","DOI":"10.2903\/j.efsa.2010.1595"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"703","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ttbdis.2016.02.019","article-title":"Absence of serological evidence of Rickettsia spp., Bartonella spp., Ehrlichia spp. and Coxiella burnetii infections in American Samoa","volume":"7","author":"Lau","year":"2016","journal-title":"Ticks Tick. Borne. Dis."},{"key":"ref_3","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":"Eldin","year":"2017","journal-title":"Clin. Microbiol. Rev."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"536","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pt.2015.06.014","article-title":"The Importance of Ticks in Q Fever Transmission: What Has (and Has Not) Been Demonstrated?","volume":"31","author":"Duron","year":"2015","journal-title":"Trends Parasitol."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e135","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tvjl.2010.12.021","article-title":"Coxiella burnetii associated placental lesions and infection level in parturient cows","volume":"190","author":"Hansen","year":"2011","journal-title":"Vet. J."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1574-695X.2011.00876.x","article-title":"The 2007\u20132010 Q fever epidemic in the Netherlands: Characteristics of notified acute Q fever patients and the association with dairy goat farming","volume":"64","author":"Dijkstra","year":"2012","journal-title":"FEMS Immunol. Med. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Schimmer, B., Luttikholt, S., Hautvast, J.L.A., Graat, E.A.M., Vellema, P., and van Duynhoven, Y.T.H.P. (2011). Seroprevalence and risk factors of Q fever in goats on commercial dairy goat farms in the Netherlands, 2009\u20132010. BMC Vet. Res., 7.","DOI":"10.1186\/1746-6148-7-81"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kampen, A.H., Hopp, P., Gr\u00f8neng, G.M., Melkild, I., Urdahl, A.M., Karlsson, A.-C., and Tharaldsen, J. (2012). No indication of Coxiella burnetii infection in Norwegian farmed ruminants. BMC Vet. Res., 8.","DOI":"10.1186\/1746-6148-8-59"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17","DOI":"10.1136\/vr.102155","article-title":"Coxiella burnetii seroprevalence and risk factors on commercial sheep farms in The Netherlands","volume":"175","author":"Schimmer","year":"2014","journal-title":"Vet. Rec."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"103","DOI":"10.1016\/j.prevetmed.2014.08.016","article-title":"Prevalence and risk factors for Coxiella burnetii (Q fever) in Dutch dairy cattle herds based on bulk tank milk testing","volume":"117","author":"Schotten","year":"2014","journal-title":"Prev. Vet. Med."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"57","DOI":"10.1016\/j.prevetmed.2012.05.015","article-title":"Factors associated with Coxiella burnetii antibody positivity in Danish dairy cows","volume":"107","author":"Paul","year":"2012","journal-title":"Prev. Vet. Med."},{"key":"ref_12","unstructured":"Estonian National Centre for Laboratory Research and Risk Assessment (LABRIS) (2002). Annual Report 2001, LABRIS. Available online: https:\/\/labris.agri.ee\/et\/loomatervis\/aruanded."},{"key":"ref_13","unstructured":"Estonian Agricultural Registers and Information Board (2012, March 20). Register of Agricultural Animals. Available online: http:\/\/www.pria.ee\/en\/."},{"key":"ref_14","unstructured":"Sergeant, E.S.G. (2021, March 17). EpiTools Epidemiological Calculators. Available online: http:\/\/epitools.ausvet.com.au\/content.php?page=home."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"924","DOI":"10.1177\/1040638711416971","article-title":"Q fever diagnosis in domestic ruminants: Comparison between complement fixation and commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays","volume":"23","author":"Horigan","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Vet. Diagnostic Investig."},{"key":"ref_16","first-page":"250","article-title":"Performances of an ELISA applied to serum and milk for the detection of antibodies to Coxiella burnetii in dairy cattle","volume":"158","author":"Guatteo","year":"2007","journal-title":"Rev. Med. Vet."},{"key":"ref_17","unstructured":"Thermo Fisher Scientific (2019, April 24). Home Page. Available online: https:\/\/www.thermofisher.com\/ee\/en\/home.html."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"285","DOI":"10.1016\/S0378-1135(99)00178-9","article-title":"The detection of Coxiella burnetii from ovine genital swabs, milk and fecal samples by the use of a single touchdown polymerase chain reaction","volume":"72","author":"Berri","year":"2000","journal-title":"Vet. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_19","unstructured":"Vircell Microbiologists (2012, March 20). Home Page. Available online: https:\/\/en.vircell.com\/."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2038","DOI":"10.1128\/JCM.01874-07","article-title":"Comparison of PCR, immunofluorescence assay, and pathogen isolation for diagnosis of Q fever in humans with spontaneous abortions","volume":"46","author":"Vaidya","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Clin. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_21","unstructured":"R Core Team (2021, June 20). R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. Available online: https:\/\/www.r-project.org\/."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"20407","DOI":"10.2807\/ese.18.08.20407-en","article-title":"Q fever in humans and farm animals in four European countries, 1982 to 2010","volume":"18","author":"Georgiev","year":"2013","journal-title":"Eurosurveillance"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"46","DOI":"10.1186\/s13028-014-0046-2","article-title":"Increasing prevalence of Coxiella burnetii seropositive Danish dairy cattle herds","volume":"56","author":"Agger","year":"2014","journal-title":"Acta Vet. Scand."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3131","DOI":"10.1017\/S0950268817002308","article-title":"Estimation of the frequency of Q fever in sheep, goat and cattle herds in France: Results of a 3-year study of the seroprevalence of Q fever and excretion level of Coxiella burnetii in abortive episodes","volume":"145","author":"Gache","year":"2017","journal-title":"Epidemiol. Infect."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"39","DOI":"10.1186\/1751-0147-56-39","article-title":"Surveys on Coxiella burnetii infections in Swedish cattle, sheep, goats and moose","volume":"56","author":"Ohlson","year":"2014","journal-title":"Acta Vet. Scand."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"61","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1863-2378.2011.01419.x","article-title":"Epidemiology and Clinical Features of Human Infection with Coxiella burnetii in Denmark During 2006\u20132007","volume":"59","author":"Bacci","year":"2011","journal-title":"Zoonoses Public Health"},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Neare, K., Janson, M., H\u00fctt, P., Lassen, B., and Viltrop, A. (2019). Coxiella burnetii Antibody Prevalence and Risk Factors of Infection in the Human Population of Estonia. Microorganisms, 7.","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms7120629"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1073","DOI":"10.12659\/MSM.889947","article-title":"Q fever outbreaks in Poland during 2005\u20132011","volume":"19","author":"Chmielewski","year":"2013","journal-title":"Med. Sci. Monit."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"849","DOI":"10.1051\/vetres:2007038","article-title":"Coxiella burnetii shedding by dairy cows","volume":"38","author":"Guatteo","year":"2007","journal-title":"Vet. Res."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"373","DOI":"10.1136\/vr.164.12.373","article-title":"Diagnosis by PCR of Coxiella burnetii in aborted fetuses of domestic ruminants in Portugal","volume":"164","author":"Clemente","year":"2009","journal-title":"Vet. Rec."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"21","DOI":"10.1017\/S0950268809002854","article-title":"Coxiella burnetii (Q fever) seroprevalence in cattle","volume":"138","author":"McCaughey","year":"2010","journal-title":"Epidemiol. Infect."},{"key":"ref_32","unstructured":"Estonian Livestock Performance Recording Ltd (2021, April 17). Home Page. Available online: https:\/\/www.epj.ee\/jkk\/en.html."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5352","DOI":"10.3168\/jds.2006-815","article-title":"Comparison of Coxiella burnetii shedding in milk of dairy bovine, caprine, and ovine herds","volume":"90","author":"Rodolakis","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Dairy Sci."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"23","DOI":"10.1051\/vetres:2007060","article-title":"Association between Coxiella burnetii shedding in milk and subclinical mastitis in dairy cattle","volume":"39","author":"Barlow","year":"2008","journal-title":"Vet. Res."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2227","DOI":"10.3168\/jds.2011-4943","article-title":"Invited review: The impact of automatic milking systems on dairy cow management, behavior, health, and welfare","volume":"95","author":"Jacobs","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Dairy Sci."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"82","DOI":"10.1016\/j.smallrumres.2018.05.006","article-title":"Seroprevalence of Coxiella burnetii infection (Q fever) in sheep farms located in Sicily (Southern Italy) and related risk factors","volume":"164","author":"Villari","year":"2018","journal-title":"Small Rumin. Res."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1413","DOI":"10.1017\/S0950268810002530","article-title":"Prevalence of Coxiella burnetii (Q fever) antibodies in bovine serum and bulk-milk samples","volume":"139","author":"Ryan","year":"2011","journal-title":"Epidemiol. Infect."},{"key":"ref_38","unstructured":"Parliament of the Estonian Republic (2022, November 01). Veterinary Act. Available online: https:\/\/www.riigiteataja.ee\/en\/eli\/ee\/Riigikogu\/act\/508072022001\/consolide."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Schimmer, B., Lenferink, A., Schneeberger, P., Aangenend, H., Vellema, P., Hautvast, J., and van Duynhoven, Y. (2012). Seroprevalence and risk factors for Coxiella burnetii (Q fever) seropositivity in dairy goat farmers\u2019 households in the Netherlands, 2009\u20132010. PLoS ONE, 7.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0042364"},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"417","DOI":"10.3201\/eid2003.131111","article-title":"Coxiella burnetii Seroprevalence and Risk for Humans on Dairy Cattle Farms, the Netherlands, 2010\u20132011","volume":"20","author":"Schimmer","year":"2014","journal-title":"Emerg. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"102","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tvjl.2012.02.022","article-title":"Epidemiological factors associated with the exposure of cattle to Coxiella burnetii in the Madrid region of Spain","volume":"194","author":"Alvarez","year":"2012","journal-title":"Vet. J."},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3316","DOI":"10.1017\/S0950268814003926","article-title":"Q fever infection in dairy cattle herds: Increased risk with high wind speed and low precipitation","volume":"143","author":"Nusinovici","year":"2015","journal-title":"Epidemiol. Infect."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"529","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tvjl.2011.08.033","article-title":"Apparent prevalence of antibodies to Coxiella burnetii (Q fever) in bulk tank milk from dairy herds in southern Belgium","volume":"192","author":"Czaplicki","year":"2012","journal-title":"Vet. J."}],"container-title":["Microorganisms"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-2607\/11\/4\/819\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T19:01:06Z","timestamp":1760122866000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-2607\/11\/4\/819"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,23]]},"references-count":43,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,4]]}},"alternative-id":["microorganisms11040819"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/microorganisms11040819","relation":{},"ISSN":["2076-2607"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2076-2607","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,23]]}}}