Seroprevalence of chlamydial abortion and Q fever in ewes aborted in the North-West of Algeria

Very little information is available in Algeria on Q fever and chlamydial abortion sheep, two zoonosis caused by Coxiella burnetii and Chlamydophila abortus and their main reservoirs are domestic ruminants. This study aimed at investigating the seroprevalence of these two diseases in sheep flocks from six Daïra (Telagh, Tanira, Moulay Slissen, Marhoum, Ras Elma and Merine). A serological survey was conducted in 39 flocks with a history of abortions, which were classified by size. A total 180 sera were collected from the aborted ewes. Q fever indirect ELISA kit and C. abortus indirect ELISA kit (ID Screen®) kits were used to know the percent prevalence in sheep. The results showed that 28% (N = 50/180) of sheep were seropositive for Q fever and 31% (N = 55/180) of sheep were seropositive for chlamydial abortion. Twenty eight herds (72%) showed at least one seropositive animal for Q fever and 29 herds (74%) showed at least one seropositive animal for chlamydial abortion. Larger herds led to more infected herds of small and medium for Q fever. These results showed that infection with Q fever and chlamydial abortion were common in the study area, therefore encouraging efforts are needed to propose measures to reduce the spread and zoonotic risk.