Application of immunofluorescence assay and nested polymerase chain reaction for query fever diagnosis in animal handlers of Puducherry, South India, and phylogenetic analysis based on IS1111 repetitive gene element.

Background And Aim: Diagnosis of query fever (QF) is mostly done on the basis of serological/molecular tests, due to the stringent requirement of biosafety level-3 containment facilities for isolating in culture. QF is an important zoonosis and is considered to be an occupational hazard to livestock handlers. This report describes our study on the serological as well as molecular evidence of QF in animal handlers from Puducherry and surrounding Tamil Nadu, from where, to the best of our knowledge, no such reports are available so far.

Coxiellosis in domestic livestock of Puducherry and Tamil Nadu: Detection of DNA by polymerase chain reaction in slaughtered ruminants.

Background And Aim: In the course of our Indian Council of Medical Research project on coxiellosis in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu, 5.64% goat, 1.85% sheep, 1.