Molecular detection of Coxiella burnetii infection in small mammals from Moshi Rural and Urban Districts, northern Tanzania

Theonest, N. O. et al. (2021) Molecular detection of Coxiella burnetii infection in small mammals from Moshi Rural and Urban Districts, northern Tanzania. Veterinary Medicine and Science, 7(3), pp. 960-967. (doi: 10.1002/vms3.401) (PMID:33277971) (PMCID:PMC8136964)

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Abstract

Coxiella burnetii is an obligate intracellular bacterium that causes Q fever, a zoonotic disease of public health importance. In northern Tanzania, Q fever is a known cause of human febrile illness, but little is known about its distribution in animal hosts. We used a quantitative real‐time PCR (qPCR) targeting the insertion element IS1111 to determine the presence and prevalence of C. burnetii infections in small mammals trapped in 12 villages around Moshi Rural and Moshi Urban Districts, northern Tanzania. A total of 382 trapped small mammals of seven species were included in the study; Rattus rattus (n = 317), Mus musculus (n = 44), Mastomys natalensis (n = 8), Acomys wilson (n = 6), Mus minutoides (n = 3), Paraxerus flavovottis (n = 3) and Atelerix albiventris (n = 1). Overall, 12 (3.1%) of 382 (95% CI: 1.6–5.4) small mammal spleens were positive for C. burnetii DNA. Coxiella burnetii DNA was detected in five of seven of the small mammal species trapped; R. rattus (n = 7), M. musculus (n = 1), A. wilson (n = 2), P. flavovottis (n = 1) and A. albiventris (n = 1). Eleven (91.7%) of twelve (95% CI: 61.5–99.8) C. burnetii DNA positive small mammals were trapped within Moshi Urban District. These findings demonstrate that small mammals in Moshi, northern Tanzania are hosts of C. burnetii and may act as a source of C. burnetii infection to humans and other animals. This detection of C. burnetii infections in small mammals should motivate further studies into the contribution of small mammals to the transmission of C. burnetii to humans and animals in this region.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Haydon, Professor Daniel and Wheelhouse, Dr Nick and Halliday, Dr Jo and Allan, Dr Kathryn and Carter, Mr Ryan and Thomas, Dr Kate
Creator Roles:
Carter, R. W.Data curation, Investigation, Methodology, Writing – review and editing
Thomas, K. M.Data curation, Investigation, Methodology, Validation, Writing – review and editing
Wheelhouse, N.Data curation, Supervision, Validation, Writing – review and editing
Haydon, D. T.Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Project administration, Supervision, Writing – review and editing
Allan, K. J.Conceptualization, Data curation, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing – review and editing
Halliday, J. E.B.Conceptualization, Data curation, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing – review and editing
Authors: Theonest, N. O., Carter, R. W., Kasagama, E., Keyyu, J. D., Shirima, G. M., Tarimo, R., Thomas, K. M., Wheelhouse, N., Maro, V. P., Haydon, D. T., Buza, J. J., Allan, K. J., and Halliday, J. E.B.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
Journal Name:Veterinary Medicine and Science
Publisher:Wiley
ISSN:2053-1095
ISSN (Online):2053-1095
Published Online:05 December 2020
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2020 The Authors
First Published:First published in Veterinary Medicine and Science 7(3): 960-967
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons license
Data DOI:10.5525/gla.researchdata.948

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Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
165842Leptospirosis in Tanzania; a study of the role of rodents in an emerging public health problem.Sarah CleavelandWellcome Trust (WELLCOTR)096400/Z/11/ZInstitute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine
190821Hazards associated with zoonotic enteric pathogens in emerging livestock meat pathways (HAZEL)Ruth ZadoksBiotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)BB/L017679/1Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine