Molecular detection of Coxiella burnetii in wild animals treated at the Center for Wild Animal Medicine and Research (CEMPAS), Botucatu, São Paulo

• Grant number: 25/08553-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: July 01, 2025
• End date: June 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Mateus de Souza Ribeiro Mioni
• Grantee: Beatriz Almeida Moreira de Souza
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Wild animals are recognized as important reservoirs of Coxiella burnetii, the bacterium that causes Q fever, with significant zoonotic potential. Among the wild hosts of C. burnetti are birds (such as pigeons, waterfowl and birds of prey), mammals (including ruminants, rodents, cervids, wild boars, seals and sea lions), reptiles (turtles and snakes) and bats. Its transmission occurs mainly through inhalation of contaminated aerosols, contact with infected body fluids (such as placental secretions, milk and excreta), ingestion of contaminated food and through vectors such as ticks. In domestic ruminants and wild mammals the infection causes similar clinical outcomes and pathologies and is mainly related to sporadic abortion, weak neonates and placentitis-related lesions, although subclinical infection does occur in some animals such as rodents and birds. In any case, the infection of wild animals by C. burnetii compromises the population dynamics of these species and causes them to play the role of reservoir in the transmission chain. Therefore, this study aims to identify potential wild reservoirs of Coxiella burnetii among the animals received by the Center for Wild Animal Medicine and Research (CEMPAS) through molecular diagnosis. (AU)