Seroprevalence of Q fever in cattle, sheep and goats in the Volta region of Ghana

Abstract

Q fever is a zoonotic disease caused byCoxiella burnetii,a causative agent of abortion in livestock and febrileillness in humans. Outbreaks of human cases of Q fever have been reported in Australia and the Netherlands,which was linked to abortions in goat and sheep farms. In Ghana, information on Q fever in both livestock andhumans is scanty. This study sought to determine the seroprevalence of Q fever in livestock in the Tongu areaof the Volta region of Ghana. It was a cross sectional study with blood sampled from 204 cattle, 158 sheep and100 goats. An indirect ELISA test was performed to detect Q fever antibodies in the serum of livestock. A totalof 20 farms were sampled across the municipalities and an overall prevalence of Q fever was 21.6%. Specie-specific prevalence was 28.4% (45/158) for sheep, 21.7% (45/204) for cattle and 10% (10/100) for goats. Abor-tions were reported on all the farms sampled and most farmers lived in close proximity to the farms sampled.Q fever is prevalent in the North Tongu area and requires the attention of the veterinary and health authori-ties, using the One- Health approach in order to control its occurrence and save lives.