Isolation, characterization and genetic sequencing of Coxiella burnetii strains from Brazil

Abstract

Coxiella burnetii is the causative agent of Q fever, a zoonotic disease with a worldwide distribution that, due to the characteristics of the bacterium, can cause long-term epidemic outbreaks with large numbers of infected individuals. The epidemiological situation of Q fever is unknown in Brazil, however, human cases of the disease have been described in the States of Bahia, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro. In addition, the detection of the bacterium in wild animals and livestock was also reported as well as the characterization of new genotypes evidenced by our group. The main objective of the present work is the isolation and Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) of C. burnetii strains circulating in Brazil, steps that can help in the understanding of clinical disease and in the development of vaccines and diagnostic tests in Brazil, and as secondary objectives (1) to perform the quantitative detection of C. burnetii by real-time PCR in samples of vaginal swab collected in the postpartum period of animals from herds with reproductive problems; (2) to evaluate the occurrence of C. burnetii different regions of Brazil (South, Southeast, Midwest, and North/Northeast); (3) to identify, through the genotyping of the positive samples in the qPCR, the different genotypes circulating in the national territory; (4) isolate C. burnetii from clinical specimens, a step that may help in future virulence studies; (5) WGS of C. burnetii strains and compare it with the different strains of C. burnetii already published in the international literature, aiming at an analysis of its virulence potential. (AU)