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The study aims to investigate the prevalence of Q fever in livestock and ticks in Makkah Province, Saudi Arabia, by molecular methods. Using DNA obtained from (40) blood samples, (60) vaginal swabs and ticks (120) samples. Real-time PCR was used to detect the IS1111 insertion sequence of Coxiella burnetii in aborted animals. Among 40 blood samples only one sample of the camel was found to be infected with an overall prevalence of 2.5 %. The highest prevalence (10 %) was recorded in AL-Laith in one camel blood sample out of 10 samples examined. Of 60 vaginal swabs examined for C. burnetii DNA, four samples were found to be infected with an overall prevalence of 6.6 %. The highest prevalence (10 %) was recorded in Makkah in two camel vaginal swabs out of 20 samples, followed by Jeddah and AL-Laith with a prevalence of (5.6 %) by detection of one sample positive out of 18 samples on each of them, while vaginal swabs from AL-Kamil were negative. Three types of ticks were identified Hyalomma dromedarii , Hyalomma anatolicum, and Hyalomma excavatum. H. dromedarii tick is the most common in aborted camels with a prevalence (6.7 %) in Makkah followed by Jeddah (5 %). The findings of this study revealed that C. burnetii infection is prevalent in agricultural animals especially camels and ticks maintained at livestock farms in Makkah Province. However, these animals and ticks may pass on C. burnetii infections to nearby people and other animals in the study area., (© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.)

Background and Aim: Query fever (Q fever) is an endemic zoonotic disease and ruminants are considered to be the primary source of infection in humans. It is caused by Coxiella burnetii which is an obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen with a worldwide distribution. This study estimated the prevalence of Q fever in livestock with a history of abortion in Makkah Province, Saudi Arabia., Material and Methods: Sera from 341 camels, 326 sheep, and 121 goats of either sex from various locations (Makkah, Jeddah, AL-Taif, AL-Qunfudah, AL-Laith, and AL-Kamil) were examined using a Q fever indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay., Results: Among the 788 serum samples, 356 animals had anti- Coxiella burnetii immunoglobulin G antibodies with an overall seroprevalence of 45.4%. Significant differences were observed in seroprevalence between species and locations. Camels had the highest percentage of Q fever-positive sera, with a prevalence of 50.4%, followed by goats (44.6%) and sheep (36.8%), with a high significant difference between animals (p = 0.000). The prevalence was significantly higher in Makkah (65.4%) than in Jeddah (28.8%)., Conclusion: C. burnetii infection is prevalent in agricultural animals, especially camels maintained at livestock farms in Makkah province. Therefore, these animals considered as the main source of Q fever infections in Saudi Arabia, which is also a reason for the abortion in these animals. Therefore, there is an urgent need for further studies on Q fever infection with interventional approaches for prevention and control., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright: © Alkenani, et al.)