Single nucleotide polymorphisms in immune response genes in acute Q fever cases with differences in self-reported symptoms.

Genes involved in human immune response are well recognized to influence the clinical course of infection. The association of host genetics with susceptibility to and severity of clinical symptoms in acute Q fever was investigated. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the IFNG (rs2430561/rs1861493), STAT1 (rs1914408), and VDR (rs2228570) genes were determined in 85 patients from the 2007 Dutch acute Q fever outbreak, and a symptom score was calculated.

Emergence of Escherichia coli encoding Shiga toxin 2f in human Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) infections in the Netherlands, January 2008 to December 2011.

The Shiga toxins of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) can be divided into Shiga toxin 1 (Stx1) and Shiga toxin 2 (Stx2) with several sub-variants. Variant Stx2f is one of the latest described, but has been rarely associated with symptomatic human infections. In the enhanced STEC surveillance in the Netherlands, 198 STEC O157 cases and 351 STEC non-O157 cases, including 87 stx2f STEC isolates, were reported between 2008 and 2011.

Coxiella burnetii seroprevalence and risk factors on commercial sheep farms in The Netherlands.

Coxiella burnetii seroprevalence was assessed on Dutch dairy and non-dairy sheep farms using ELISA. Risk factors for seropositivity on non-dairy sheep farms were identified at farm and sheep level by univariate and multivariate multilevel analyses. Based on 953 dairy and 5671 non-dairy serum samples, sheep seroprevalences were 18.

Risk factors for human salmonellosis originating from pigs, cattle, broiler chickens and egg laying hens: a combined case-control and source attribution analysis.

Several case-control studies have investigated risk factors for human salmonellosis while others have used Salmonella subtyping to attribute human infections to different food and animal reservoirs. This study combined case-control and source attribution data into a single analysis to explore risk factors at the point of exposure for human salmonellosis originating from four putative food-producing animal reservoirs (pigs, cattle, broilers and layers/eggs) in the Netherlands. We confirmed that most human cases (∼ 90%) were attributable to layers/eggs and pigs.

Campylobacter seroconversion rates in selected countries in the European Union.

As a major foodborne pathogen, Campylobacter is frequently isolated from food sources of animal origin. In contrast, human Campylobacter illness is relatively rare, but has a considerable health burden due to acute enteric illness as well as severe sequelae. To study silent transmission, serum antibodies can be used as biomarkers to estimate seroconversion rates, as a proxy for infection pressure.