Wide exposure to Coxiella burnetii in ruminant and feline species living in a natural environment: zoonoses in a human-livestock-wildlife interface

Assessment of the role of wild and domestic hosts as potential reservoirs of misdiagnosed zoonoses, such as Q fever by Coxiella burnetii, is an important public health issue today both for wildlife conservation and management of disease in human-livestock-wildlife interface. This study used ELISA, an indirect antibody, to research (2003-2013) C. burnetii infection in seven free-living wild and domestic ruminant species and in European wildcats (Felis silvestris). The animals studied were 0 European wildcats, 21 Spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica), 314 red deer (Cervus elaphus), 556 fallow deer (Dama dama), 211 European mouflon (Ovis aries musimon), eight roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), 407 bovines (Bos taurus) and 3739 sheep (Ovis aries). All the animals shared the same habitat in the Serrania de Cuenca Natural Park (Castile-La Mancha, Spain). The study area is an example of human-domestic-wildlife interface where people and domestic animals live in close proximity to wildlife. Observed C. burnetii seropositive frequencies were: 33.3% European wildcats, 23.8% Spanish ibex, 22.5% domestic sheep 1.5% red deer, 1.4% European mouflon, 0.24% cattle, 0.18% fallow deer and 0% roe deer. The study found a wide C. burnetii prevalence of previous and present exposure in wild and domestic ruminant hosts in the Serrania de Cuenca Natural Park and reports the first evidence of C. burnetii exposure in free-living European wildcats.