Control of the infection of dairy cattle by Coxiella burnetii, the agent of a zoonosis, Q fever.

The control of Coxiella burnetii excretion by cattle covers several issues:

• Public health issues: zoonosis, asymptomatic in more than 60% of cases, sometimes serious clinical signs: pneumopathies and hepatitis, cardiovascular and genital disorders (epidemic in the Netherlands since 2007).
• Animal health issues in Ruminants (main reservoir for human infection): reproductive disorders, leading to a degradation of the productivity of infected animals.
• Socio-economic issues: potentially leading to a deterioration of the image of the dairy industry.

Research Program

The work carried out covered the period 2006-2010:

• evaluation of the informational value of infection and shedding detection tools at the individual and herd level 
• the modalities of bacterial excretion in naturally infected herds 
• evaluation of the efficacy of a vaccine to prevent shedding of Coxiella burnetii in dairy cattle in infected herds in a partial vaccination trial under good clinical practice 
• the duration of vaccine immunity 

Work in progress and prospects concern :

• the evaluation of the effectiveness of different control strategies combining antibiotic therapy and/or vaccination of all or part of the herd in a multicentre trial in 120 dairy cattle herds (support for Anne-Frieda Taurel's thesis)
• the development of a mathematical model for the propagation and persistence of Coxiella in a dairy cattle herd
• description of the strains of Coxiella circulating in infected herds, in particular with regard to the different clinical and excretion profiles
• identification of the major transmission routes of Coxiella burnetii between herds

Partnerships

Scientific partners
UR IASP Nouzilly, ANSES Sophia-Antipolis, Univsersité d’Utrecht (NL), Swedish Veterinary Institute
Public and professional partners
DGAl, GDS du Grand ouest, GTV Bretagne et Pays de Loire, France-Agri-Mer, CNIEL

Contact

Raphaël Guatteo
François Beaudeau

Research Program