CoxBase: an Online Platform for Epidemiological Surveillance, Visualization, Analysis, and Typing of Coxiella burnetii Genomic Sequences.

Q (query) fever is an infectious zoonotic disease caused by the Gram-negative bacterium Coxiella burnetii. Although the disease has been studied for decades, it still represents a threat due to sporadic outbreaks across farms in Europe. The absence of a central platform for typing data management is an important epidemiological gap that is relevant in the case of an outbreak.

Development of High-Throughput Multiplex Serology to Detect Serum Antibodies against .

The causative agent of Q fever, the bacterium (), has gained increasing interest due to outbreak events and reports about it being a potential risk factor for the development of lymphomas. In order to conduct large-scale studies for population monitoring and to investigate possible associations more closely, accurate and cost-effective high-throughput assays are highly desired. To address this need, nine proteins were expressed as recombinant antigens for multiplex serology.

Multispecies Q Fever Outbreak in a Mixed Dairy Goat and Cattle Farm Based on a New Bovine-Associated Genotype of .

A Q fever outbreak on a dairy goat and cattle farm was investigated with regard to the One Health concept. Serum samples and vaginal swabs from goats with different reproductive statuses were collected. Cows, cats, and a dog were investigated with the same sample matrix.

COVID-19 Pandemic & Bureaucracy: The Crisis Inside the Crisis.

The Medical Intelligence and Information (MI2) Unit of the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) is experienced in crisis support in military missions since several years. It gained additional experiences during the current coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on different levels of the response to crisis and was requested to share the findings and expertise with the overloaded civil public health agencies inside Germany. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the unit is constantly developing new products for crisis communication, knowledge sharing techniques in new databases, dashboards for leadership, and training for laypersons in contact tracing.

[Innovative SARS-CoV-2 crisis management in the public health sector: Corona dashboard and wastewater surveillance using the example of Berchtesgadener Land, Germany].

Background: The rise of an infectious disease crisis such as the SARS-CoV‑2 pandemic posed significant challenges for the administrative structures of the public health service, which resulted in varying levels of efficiency in outbreak management as a function of staffing and digital resources. This substantially impeded the integration of innovative pandemic outbreak management tools. Innovative crisis management, such as cluster tracking, risk group testing, georeferencing, or the integration of wastewater surveillance recommended by the EU Commission, was made significantly more difficult.

High Prevalence and New Genotype of in Ticks Infesting Camels in Somalia.

is the causative agent of Q fever. It can infect animals, humans, and birds, as well as ticks, and it has a worldwide geographical distribution. To better understand the epidemiology of in Somalia, ticks infesting camels were collected from five different regions, including Bari, Nugaal, Mudug, Sool, and Sanaag, between January and March 2018.

Small Mammals as Reservoir for Zoonotic Agents in Afghanistan.

Introduction: Rodents and other small mammals can serve as reservoirs for a large number of zoonotic pathogens. A higher risk of infection with rodent-borne pathogens exists for humans with direct contact to rodents and/or their excretions, e.g.

Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) on birds migrating to the island of Ponza, Italy, and the tick-borne pathogens they carry.

Seasonal migration of birds between breeding and wintering areas can facilitate the spread of tick species and tick-borne diseases. In this study, 151 birds representing 10 different bird species were captured on Ponza Island, an important migratory stopover off the western coast of Italy and screened for tick infestation. Ticks were collected and identified morphologically.

Comparison of Excretion between Sheep and Goats Naturally Infected with One Cattle-Associated Genotype.

The main reservoir of are ruminants. They shed the pathogen through birth products, vaginal mucus, faeces and milk. A direct comparison of excretions between naturally infected sheep and goats was performed on the same farm to investigate species-specific differences.

Imported Hyalomma ticks in Germany in 2018.

Background: Hyalomma marginatum and Hyalomma rufipes are two-host tick species, which are mainly distributed in southern Europe, Africa and middle-eastern Asia. They are well-known vectors of Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus and other viruses as well as Rickettsia aeschlimannii. In recent years, these tick species have been found sporadically in Germany, but they do not belong to the autochthonous tick fauna in Germany.

Current perspectives on the transmission of Q fever: Highlighting the need for a systematic molecular approach for a neglected disease in Africa.

Q fever is a bacterial worldwide zoonosis (except New Zealand) caused by the Gram-negative obligate intracellular bacterium Coxiella burnetii (C. burnetii). The bacterium has a large host range including arthropods, wildlife and companion animals and is frequently identified in human and livestock populations.

Molecular survey of neglected bacterial pathogens reveals an abundant diversity of species and genotypes in ticks collected from animal hosts across Romania.

Background: Ticks are transmitting a wide range of bacterial pathogens that cause substantial morbidity and mortality in domestic animals. The full pathogen burden transmitted by tick vectors is incompletely studied in many geographical areas, and extensive studies are required to fully understand the diversity and distribution of pathogens transmitted by ticks.

Results: We sampled 824 ticks of 11 species collected in 19 counties in Romania.

New records and host associations of the tick Ixodes apronophorus and the first detection of Ehrlichia sp. HF in Romania.

Ixodes (Ixodes) apronophorus is a neglected tick species and its geographical distribution, host associations, and role as a disease vector are not well known. We collected I. apronophorus from several locations in Romania.

The Intervening Sequence of Coxiella burnetii: Characterization and Evolution.

The intervening sequence (IVS) of Coxiella burnetii, the agent of Q fever, is a 428-nt selfish genetic element located in helix 45 of the precursor 23S rRNA. The IVS element, in turn, contains an ORF that encodes a hypothetical ribosomal S23 protein (S23p). Although S23p can be synthesized in vitro in the presence of an engineered E.

Coxiella-like endosymbiont in argasid ticks (Ornithodoros muesebecki) from a Socotra Cormorant colony in Umm Al Quwain, United Arab Emirates.

Coxiella burnetii is a pathogen causing Q fever in domestic animals and humans. Seabirds have been implicated as possible reservoirs of this bacterium in the Arabian Gulf and in the Western Indian Ocean. Recently, Coxiella species closely related to C.

[Q fever].

The article summarizes some important recently identified findings about the Coxiella burnetii disease, Q fever. Beside new diagnostic parameters for follow-up issues, the importance of a timely identification of chronic Q fever and the peculiarities of the post Q fever fatigue syndrome are depicted.

Cell-free propagation of Coxiella burnetii does not affect its relative virulence.

Q fever is caused by the obligate intracellular bacterium Coxiella burnetii. In vitro growth of the bacterium is usually limited to viable eukaryotic host cells imposing experimental constraints for molecular studies, such as the identification and characterisation of major virulence factors. Studies of pathogenicity may benefit from the recent development of an extracellular growth medium for C.

Genome sequence of Coxiella burnetii strain Namibia.

We present the whole genome sequence and annotation of the Coxiella burnetii strain Namibia. This strain was isolated from an aborting goat in 1991 in Windhoek, Namibia. The plasmid type QpRS was confirmed in our work.

Genome Sequence of Coxiella burnetii Strain AuQ01 (Arandale) from an Australian Patient with Acute Q Fever.

Coxiella burnetii strain AuQ01 was isolated from the serum of an Australian acute Q fever patient and represents the first whole genome from this historical Q fever country. This new genome shows distinct differences from existing genomic data and will enhance the understanding of this query pathogen.

Molecular analysis of Coxiella burnetii in Germany reveals evolution of unique clonal clusters.

The causative agent of Q fever, Coxiella burnetii, is a query agent occurring naturally all over the world. We studied 104 German Coxiella burnetii strains/DNA samples obtained between 1969 and 2011 using a 14 microsatellite marker Multiple-locus variable-number of tandem repeat (VNTR) analysis (MLVA) technique. We were able to divide our collection into 32 different genotypes clustered into four major groups (A-D).

Eight new genomes and synthetic controls increase the accessibility of rapid melt-MAMA SNP typing of Coxiella burnetii.

The case rate of Q fever in Europe has increased dramatically in recent years, mainly because of an epidemic in the Netherlands in 2009. Consequently, there is a need for more extensive genetic characterization of the disease agent Coxiella burnetii in order to better understand the epidemiology and spread of this disease. Genome reference data are essential for this purpose, but only thirteen genome sequences are currently available.

The impact of Q fever-phase-specific milk serology for the diagnosis of puerperal and chronic milk shedding of C. burnetii in dairy cows.

C. burnetii infection might be associated with puerperal shedding; additionally, the chronic shedding of this pathogen in milk has been observed in individual animals. A longitudinal survey was performed in an endemically infected dairy cow herd with 100 cows in order to compare phase-specific milk-serology with pathogen shedding.