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- Occupationally Acquired Q Fever in Shepherds and Sheep Milk CheesemakersPublication . Cruz, Rita; Santos, Carla; Esteves, Fernando; Ferreira, Ana Sofia; Nóbrega, Carmen; Mega, Cristina; Albuquerque, Carlos; Teixeira-de-Lemos, Edite; Coelho, Ana Cláudia; Vala, Helena; Mesquita, JoãoQ fever is a zoonosis caused byCoxiella burnetii, and transmission to humans is often associatedwith contact with ovine and caprine livestock. Those exposed to sheep are particularly at high risk of infection.Recent studies show that Q fever is increasing in sheep farms in Portugal raising alerts on spillover to humans.We detected anti-C. burnetiiIgG in shepherds and sheep milk cheesemakers (27 [28.1%] in a total of 96; 95%confidence interval [CI] 19.4–38.2%) and in controls (21 [8.1%] in a total of 260; 95% CI 5.1–12.1%), pointingto an increased risk ofC. burnetiiinfection (P= 0.0001), with an odds ratio foranti-C. burnetiiof 4.45 (95% CI2.4–8.4%;P= 0.0001), in individuals with occupational contact with sheep in Portugal.
- Prospective Serosurvey of Coxiella burnetii Antibodies in Selected Sheep of PortugalPublication . Cruz, Rita; Esteves, Fernando; Vasconcelos-Nóbrega, Carmen; Santos, Carla; Ferreira, Ana Sofia; Mega, Cristina; Coelho, Ana Claudia; H, Vala; Mesquita, JoãoQ fever is a zoonotic disease caused by Coxiella burnetii that is highly prevalent across the world. In this study, a prospective serosurvey was performed to study C. burnetii circulation in a population of sheep in the central region of Portugal. Blood from a representative sample of 168 animals was drawn in both 2015 and 2016, and sera were tested for IgG anti-C. burnetii by EIA. In 2015, 7.7% (13/168) animals tested positive for IgG anti-C. burnetii, while in 2016, 17.3% (29/168) tested positive, showing a statistically significant (P = 0.008) increase in anti-C. burnetii seroprevalence. Results support the notion that Q fever is emerging in central Portugal.