Coxiella burnetii is the etiologic agent of Q fever, a worldwide zoonosis. Cattle, sheep and goats are considered the main reservoirs of the disease. Transmission to humans occurs mainly through the inhalation of infectious aerosols from milk, faeces, urine, and birth products from infected ruminants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBetween 2016 and 2023, a cross-sectional study was conducted in the central region of Portugal in order to better understand the epidemiology and public health risks resulting from the handling and consumption of game animals infected with spp. The seroprevalence and risk factors for spp. seropositivity were evaluated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHepatitis E virus (HEV) is a zoonotic foodborne virus with an annual infection prevalence of 20 million human cases, which seriously affects public health and economic development in both developed and developing countries. To better understand the epidemiology of HEV in Central Portugal, a cross-sectional study was conducted from 2016 to 2023 with sera samples from wild ungulates. The seroprevalence and risk factors for HEV seropositivity were evaluated in the present study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFQ fever is caused by the pathogen and is a zoonosis that naturally infects goats, sheep, and cats, but can also infect humans, birds, reptiles, or arthropods. A survey was conducted for the detection of antibodies against in a sample of 617 free-ranging wild ruminants, 358 wild boar () and 259 red deer (), in east-central Portugal during the 2016-2022 hunting seasons. Only adult animals were sampled in this study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite the high prevalence of canine Leishmania infantum infection in Portugal, significant differences associated with different risk factors can be found between geographically contiguous areas. In this study, a geographical area within the central region of Portugal (municipalities of Proença-a-Nova, Mação and Vila de Rei) was investigated. An epidemiological survey involved the analysis by an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay of serum samples collected during the anti-rabies vaccination campaign from 282 dogs.
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