Coxiella burnetii detection in wild hog female

• Grant number: 23/15364-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: January 01, 2024
• End date: December 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Mateus de Souza Ribeiro Mioni
• Grantee: Iara Valentim Silva
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The introduction of species into different environments causes enormous ecological impacts,sanitary and economic. The European wild boar (Sus scrofa) is a species considered invasive,introduced and present in almost the entire planet, presenting high reproductive rates,food plasticity and an apparent natural pre-adaptation to different environments, which can bereproduce with domestic pigs and generate new individuals with morphological variations betweentwo species of pig. In Brazil, these animals are distributed in more than 500 municipalities,demonstrating continuous population increase. In addition to destroying food crops anddamage occupied environments, they represent a health threat as they have the capacityof harboring numerous pathogens, including Coxiella burnetii. C. burnetii is a bacteriumimportant zoonotic disease from the One Health point of view, causing Q fever in humans andcoxiellosis in animals. Coxiellosis is of great relevance to the agro-production sector becauseaffecting a variety of livestock, such as sheep, goats and cattle, in addition to being severely debilitatingfor humans. Therefore, the aim of this project is to highlight the occurrence ofCoxiella burnetii in wild boars, a species with high geographic distribution that may be active inspread of the disease to other animals and humans.