Abstract
In this study, the presence of Coxiella burnetii (Cb) in cheese produced in Southern Italy from milk of cow, buffalo, and small ruminants has been evaluated. Two tests based on real-time PCR assay targeting CB IS1111 element were performed. First an assay based on the use of Taq-Man probe was performed to screen the samples. The positive samples were confirmed using both a SyBr Green test and the evaluation of the melting temperature of the amplicons. In addition, all cheese samples were also tested to determine the milk species utilized (Regulation EC 273/2008). The samples of cheese produced with a milk mix from different species were not included into the study. A total of 169 cheese samples were tested, and the obtained results showed an overall prevalence of Cb of 21.3 % with variation between species. A positivity rate of 39 % was observed in cow’s cheese while Cb DNA was detected in 26 % of cheese samples made from small ruminants’ milk. However, the bacterium was found only in 6.9 % of buffalo’s cheese samples. A direct association between prevalence and milk used for the production was highlighted (χ 2 = 19.12). The statistical analysis of the prevalence in the samples from cattle and small ruminants compared with those from buffalo shows an OR of 8.4 and 4.9, respectively.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arricau-Bouvery N, Rodolakis A (2005) Is Q fever an emerging or reemerging zoonosis. Vet Res 36:327–349
Arricau-Bouvery N, Hauck Y, Bejaoui A, Frangoulidis D, Bodier CC, Souriau A, Meyer H, Neubauer H, Rodolakis A, Vergnaud G (2006) Molecular characterization of Coxiella burnetii isolates by infrequent restriction site-PCR and MLVA ty**. BMC Microbiol 6:38
Babudieri B (1959) Q Fever: a zoonosis. Adv Vet Sci 5:81–182
Berri M, Laroucau K, Rodolakis A (2000) The detection of Coxiella burnetii from ovine genital swabs, milk and fecal samples by the use of a single touchdown polymerase chain reaction. Vet Microbiol 72(3–4):285–293
Borghese A (2010) Development and prospective of buffalo and buffalo mark et in Europe and near East. Revista Veterinaria 21(suppl. 1):20–31
Capuano F, Landolfi MC, Monetti DM (2001) Influence of three types of farm management on the seroprevalence of Q fever as assessed by an indirect immunofluorescence assay. Vet Rec 149(22):669–671
Capuano F, Parisi A, Cafiero MA, Pitaro L, Fenizia D (2004) Coxiella burnetii: what is the reality. Parassitologia 46(1–2):131–134
Carcopino O, Raoult L, Boubli A, Stein A (2009) Q Fever during pregnancy: a cause of poor fetal and maternal outcome. Ann NY Acad Sci 1166:79–89
Cref O, Condron R (2006) Coxiella burnetii and milk pasteurization: an early application of the precautionary principle. Epidemiol Infect 134:946–951
Delsing CE, Kullberg BJ, Bleeker-Rovers CP (2010) Q fever in the Netherlands from 2007 to 2010. Neth J Med 68:382–387
EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare (2010) scientific opinion on Q fever. EFSA J 8(5):1595–1708
Fretz R, Schaeren W, Tanner M, Baumgartner A (2007) Screening of various foodstuffs for occurrence of Coxiella burnetii in Switzerland. Int J Food Microbiol 116:414–418
Galiero G, Goffredi CG, D’Orazi A (1996) Epidemiology of Q fever: seroprevalence in buffalo dairies of Salerno province. Sel Vet. 6:407–412
Guatteo R, Beaudeau F, Berri M, Rodolakis A, Joly A, Seegers H (2006) Shedding routes of Coxiella burnetii in dairy cows: implications for detection and control. Vet Res 37:827–833
Hatchette TF, Hudson RC, Schlech WF, Campbell NA, Hatchette JE, Ratnam S, Raoult D, Donovan C, Marrie TJ (2001) Goat-associated Q fever: A new disease in Newfoundland. Emerg J Infect Dis 7(3):413–419
Hirai A., Nakama A., Chiba T., Kai A. (2011). Development of a method for detection of Coxiella burnetii in cheeses samples. J Vet Med Sci (ahead of print)
Hoover TA, Vodkin MH, Williams JC (1992) A Coxiella burnetii repeated DNA element resembling a bacterial insertion sequence. J Bacteriol 174(17):5540–5548
Kim J, Schmidt KA, Phebus RK, Jeon IJ (1998) Time and temperature of streatching as critical control points of Listeria monocytogenes during production of mozzarella cheese. J Food Prot 61(1):116–118
Kim SG, Kim EH, Lafferty CJ, Dubovi E (2005) Coxiella burnetii in bulk tank milk samples. US Emerg Infect Dis 11(4):619–621
Klee SR, Tyczka J, Ellerbrok, Franz T, Linke S, Baljer G, Appel B (2006) Highly sensitive real-time PCR for specific detection and quantification of Coxiella burnetii. BMC Microbiol 6:2. http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2180-6-2
Lennet EH, Clark WH, Abinati M, Brunetti O, Covert JM (1952) Q fever studies. XIII. The effect of pasteurization on Coxiella burneti in naturally infected milk. Am J Hyg 55(2):246–253
Maltezou HC, Constantopoulou I, Kallergi C, Vlahou V, Georgakopoulos D, Kafetzis DA, Raoult D (2004) Q fever in children in Greece. The Am J Trop Med Hyg 70:540–544
Masala G, Porcu R, Sanna G, Chessa G, Cillara G, Chisu V, Tola S (2004) Occurrence, distribution, and role in abortion of Coxiella burnetii in sheep and goats in Sardinia. Italy Vet Microbiol 99(3–4):301–305
Mauriello G, Moio L, Genovese A, Ercolini D (2003) Relationship between flavoring capabilities, bacterial composition and geografic origin of natural whely cultures used for traditional water-buffalo mozzarella chees manufacture. J Dairy Sci 86:486–497
Moio L, Di Luccia A, Addeo F (1989) Fast isoelectric focusing of milk protein on ultrathin polyacrilammide gel containing urea. Electrophoresis 10:535–539
Monno R, Fumarola L, Trerotoli P, Cavone D, Giannelli G, Rizzo C, Ciceroni L, Musti M (2009) Seroprevalence of Q fever, brucellosis and leptospirosis in farmers and agricultural workers in Bari, Southern Italy. Ann Agric Environ Med 16:205–209
Olsson I, Axio-Fridriksson UB, Degerman M (1988) Isoelectric focusing and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis using PhastSystem. Electrophoresis 9:16–22
Parisi A, Fraccalvieri R, Cafiero M, Miccolupo A, Padalino I, Montagna C, Capuano F, Sottili R (2006) Diagnosis of Coxiella burnetii-related abortion in Italian domestic ruminants using single-tube nested PCR. Vet Microbiol 118(1–2):101–106
Perugini AG, Capuano F, Esposito A, Marianelli C, Martucciello A, Iovane G, Galiero G (2009) Detection of Coxiella burnetii in buffaloes aborted foetus by IS111 DNA amplification: a preliminary report. Vet Sci 87(2):189–191
Rodolakis A, Berri M, Héchard C, Caudron C, Souriau A, Bodier CC, Blanchard B, Camuset P, Devillechaise P, Natorp JC, Vadet JP, Arricau-Bouvery N (2007) Comparison of Coxiella burnetii shedding in milk of dairy bovine, caprine and ovine herds. J Dairy Sci 90:5352–5360
Seshadri R, Paulsen IT, Eisen JA, Read TD, Nelson KE, Nelson WC, Ward NL, Tettelin H, Davidsen TM, Beanan MJ, Deboy RT, Daugherty SC, Brinkac LM, Madupu R, Dodson RJ, Khouri HM, Lee KH, Carty HA, Scanlan D, Heinzen RA, Thompson HA, Samuel JE, Fraser CM, Heidelberg JF (2003) Complete genome sequence of the Q-fever pathogen Coxiella burnetii. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 100(9):5455–5460
Sewell DL (1995) Laboratory-associated infections and biosafety. Clin Microbiol Rev 8(3):389–405
Vaidya VM, Malik SVS, Bhilegaonkar KN, Rathore RS, Kaur Simranpreet, Barbuddhe SB (2010) Prevalence of Q fever in domestic animals with reproductive disorders. Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis 33:307–321
Willems H, Thiele D, Frölich-Ritter R, Krauss H (1994) Detection of Coxiella burnetii in cow’s milk using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). J Vet Med 41:580–587
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Capuano, F., Mancusi, A., Casalinuovo, F. et al. Real-time PCR-based detection of Coxiella burnetii in cheeses. Eur Food Res Technol 235, 1181–1186 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-012-1855-z
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-012-1855-z