Type: Short communication

Seroprevalence of Coxiella burnetii and associated risk factors in small ruminants from central Nepal

Authors

  • Rajesh Gautam Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science, Tribhuvan University, Paklihawa, Bhairawaha, Nepal image/svg+xml https://orcid.org/0009-0006-9733-5238
    Competing Interests

    The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest regarding this study.

  • Purna Shrestha Nepal Agriculture Research Centre, National Goat Research Program, Bandipur, Tanahu, Nepal image/svg+xml
    Competing Interests

    The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest regarding this study.

  • Suraj Achhami Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science, Tribhuvan University, Paklihawa, Bhairawaha, Nepal image/svg+xml
    Competing Interests

    The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest regarding this study.

Corresponding Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.64636/ar.32

Abstract

Query fever, also known as an endemic zoonotic disease, is primarily thought to infect humans through ruminants. Coxiella burnetii, an obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen with a global distribution, causes Coxiellosis. The present study aims to examine the prevalence of C. burnetii and associated risk factors for an epidemiological study. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 88 goats’ serum samples obtained from National Goat Research Program, Agriculture Research Council, Nepal. Two serum samples out of eighty-eight (88) were confirmed to be positive for C. burnetii, indicating a prevalence of 2.27%. The risk factors for Q. fever, such as age, physiological status, tick infestation, body condition score (BCS), history of abortion, health status, and stock source showed no significant correlation with the results. In conclusion, there was a prevalence of C. burnetii in this research area. Further investigation into farm workers and locality using interventional methods is necessary from a One Health perspective. 

Keywords:

Zoonotic, query fever, goats, epidemiological investigation, seroprevalence, one health
ga

References

Acharya, K., & Phuyal, S. (2025). Q-fever outbreak in Nepal: Urgent actions needed. Open Veterinary Journal, 15(6), 2283. https://doi.org/10.5455/OVJ.2025.v15.i6.1

Agerholm, J. S. (2013). Coxiella burnetii associated reproductive disorders in domestic animals-a critical review. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica, 55(1), 13. https://doi.org/10.1186/1751-0147-55-13

Alkenani, N. A., Baroom, H. M., Almohimeed, A. A., Hassan, S. O., Mohammed, M. S., Alshehri, L. A., Abu Sulayman, S. M., Al-Maaqar, S. M., & Alshaeri, M. A. (2024). Serological investigation of Coxiella burnetii infection (Query fever) in livestock in Makkah Province, Saudi Arabia. Veterinary World, 842–847. https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2024.842-847

Amin, F., Ali, S., Javid, A., Imran, M., Rashid, M. I., Mertens-Scholz, K., & Neubauer, H. (2022). Sero-Epidemiology of Coxiella burnetii Infection in Small Ruminants in the Eastern Region of Punjab, Pakistan. Pathogens, 11(6), 664. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens11060664

Bond, K. A., Vincent, G., Wilks, C. R., Franklin, L., Sutton, B., Stenos, J., Cowan, R., Lim, K., Athan, E., Harris, O., Macfarlane-Berry, L., Segal, Y., & Firestone, S. M. (2016). One Health approach to controlling a Q fever outbreak on an Australian goat farm. Epidemiology and Infection, 144(6), 1129–1141. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268815002368

Burns, R. J. L., Le, K. K., Siengsanun-Lamont, J., & Blacksell, S. D. (2023). A review of coxiellosis (Q fever) and brucellosis in goats and humans: Implications for disease control in smallholder farming systems in Southeast Asia. One Health, 16, 100568. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.onehlt.2023.100568

CDC. (2025, May 21). About Q fever. Q Fever. https://www.cdc.gov/q-fever/about/index.html

Cho, Y. S., Park, J.-H., Kim, J. W., Lee, J.-J., Youn, S. Y., Byeon, H. S., Jeong, H. W., Kim, D.-M., Yu, S. N., Yoon, J. W., Kwak, D., Yoo, H. S., Lee, J.-Y., Kwon, J.-R., Hwang, K.-W., & Heo, J. Y. (2023). Current Status of Q Fever and the Challenge of Outbreak Preparedness in Korea: One Health Approach to Zoonoses. Journal of Korean Medical Science, 38(24), e197. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2023.38.e197

Clark, N. J., & Soares Magalhães, R. J. (2018). Airborne geographical dispersal of Q fever from livestock holdings to human communities: A systematic review and critical appraisal of evidence. BMC Infectious Diseases, 18(1), 218. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-018-3135-4

Eastwood, K., Graves, S. R., Massey, P. D., Bosward, K., Van Den Berg, D., & Hutchinson, P. (2018). Q fever: A rural disease with potential urban consequences. Australian Journal of General Practice, 47(3), 112–116. https://doi.org/10.31128/AFP-08-17-4299

Gache, K., Rousset, E., Perrin, J. B., De Cremoux, R., Hosteing, S., Jourdain, E., Guatteo, R., Nicollet, P., Touratier, A., Calavas, D., & Sala, C. (2017). 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. Epidemiology and Infection, 145(15), 3131–3142. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268817002308

Mezouar, S., Desnues, B., Bechah, Y., Bardin, N., Devaux, C., & Mege, J.-L. (2025). Pathogenicity and Virulence of Coxiella burnetii: Focus on Q fever. Virulence, 16(1), 2495842. https://doi.org/10.1080/21505594.2025.2495842

Moreira, G., Ribeiro, M., Martins, M., Cardoso, J. M., Esteves, F., Anastácio, S., Duarte, S., Vala, H., Cruz, R., & Mesquita, J. R. (2025). Assessing Q Fever Exposure in Veterinary Professionals: A Study on Seroprevalence and Awareness in Portugal, 2024. Veterinary Sciences, 12(6), 512. https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci12060512

Panth, Y., Shrestha, S. P., & Bastola, R. (2017). DEMONSTRATION OF CIRCULATING ANTIBODIES OF Coxiella burnetii IN.

Paudyal, N., Poudel, S., Pandey, D., & Khanal, D. R. (2021). Sero‐detection of Coxiella burnetii infection in cattle, sheep and goats in selected regions of Nepal. Veterinary Medicine and Science, 7(4), 1211–1215. https://doi.org/10.1002/vms3.458

Pérez-Arellano, J.-L., Curbelo, J., & Carranza-Rodriguez, C. (2025). A Comprehensive Review of the Mechanisms of Human Q Fever: Pathogenesis and Pathophysiology. Pathogens, 14(6), 589. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens14060589

Peter, J. V., Sudarsan, T. I., Prakash, J. A. J., & Varghese, G. M. (2015). Severe scrub typhus infection: Clinical features, diagnostic challenges and management. World Journal of Critical Care Medicine, 4(3), 244. https://doi.org/10.5492/wjccm.v4.i3.244

Q fever. (n.d.). WOAH - World Organisation for Animal Health. Retrieved September 16, 2025, from https://www.woah.org/en/disease/q-fever/

Q Fever: Causes, Symptoms & Prevention Explained. (n.d.). Retrieved September 15, 2025, from https://sehathub.com/q-fever

Q fever in small ruminants (Query fever; Coxiella burnetii; Coxiellosis) | Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory | Washington State University. (n.d.). Retrieved September 16, 2025, from https://waddl.vetmed.wsu.edu/2022/11/10/q-fever-in-small-ruminants-query-fever-coxiella-burnetii-coxiellosis/

Rahman, Md. A., Alam, Md. M., Islam, Md. A., Bhuiyan, A. K. F. H., & Rahman, A. K. M. A. (2016). Serological and Molecular Evidence of Q Fever in Domestic Ruminants in Bangladesh. Veterinary Medicine International, 2016, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/9098416

Sahu, R., Rawool, D. B., Dhaka, P., Yadav, J. P., Mishra, S. P., Kumar, M., Vergis, J., Malik, S. S., & Barbuddhe, S. B. (2021). Current perspectives on the occurrence of Q fever: Highlighting the need for systematic surveillance for a neglected zoonotic disease in Indian subcontinent. Environmental Microbiology Reports, 13(2), 138–158. https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-2229.12918

Tan, T., Heller, J., Firestone, S., Stevenson, M., & Wiethoelter, A. (2024). A systematic review of global Q fever outbreaks. One Health, 18, 100667. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.onehlt.2023.100667

Ullah, Q., Jamil, T., Saqib, M., Iqbal, M., & Neubauer, H. (2022a). Q Fever—A Neglected Zoonosis. Microorganisms, 10(8), 1530. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10081530

Ullah, Q., Jamil, T., Saqib, M., Iqbal, M., & Neubauer, H. (2022b). Q Fever—A Neglected Zoonosis. Microorganisms, 10(8), 1530. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10081530

Van Der Hoek, W., Morroy, G., Renders, N. H. M., Wever, P. C., Hermans, M. H. A., Leenders, A. C. A. P., & Schneeberger, P. M. (2012). Epidemic Q Fever in Humans in the Netherlands. In R. Toman, R. A. Heinzen, J. E. Samuel, & J.-L. Mege (Eds.), Coxiella burnetii: Recent Advances and New Perspectives in Research of the Q Fever Bacterium (Vol. 984, pp. 329–364). Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4315-1_17

Yáñez, U., Álvarez, J., Pisón, C., Acción, A., Becerra, J. J., Jiménez, A., Gisbert, P., Herradón, P. G., Peña, A. I., Prieto, A., Díaz-Cao, J. M., & Quintela, L. A. (2024). Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Relationship between Reproductive Performance and the Presence of Antibodies against Coxiellosis in Dairy Farm Milk Tanks in the Northwest of Spain. Animals, 14(3), 367. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14030367

View and Download

Downloads

Published

14-11-2025

Competing Interest

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest regarding this study.

Data Availability Statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest regarding this study.

How to Cite

Gautam, Rajesh, Purna Bahadur Shrestha, and Suraj Achami. 2025. “Seroprevalence of Coxiella Burnetii and Associated Risk Factors in Small Ruminants from Central Nepal”. Animal Reports 1 (2): 137-44. https://doi.org/10.64636/ar.32.

Share

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Similar Articles

1-10 of 18

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.