Q FEVER - CHINA: ex CHILE, ALPACA, REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

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A ProMED-mail post

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International Society for Infectious Diseases

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Date: Thu 28 May 2015

Source: South China Morning Post [edited]

<http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1811110/alpacas-slaughtered-beijing-after-found-be-diseased>

A group of alpacas imported from Latin America earlier this month [May 2015] to farms in the Beijing area have been put down after they were

found to be diseased.

9 of the animals were destroyed, according to The Beijing News. They were among 946 of the animals which were imported from Chile, the

newspaper said.

6 of the alpacas had Q fever, a bacterial infection often found in domesticated animals. The 3 others had a viral form of bovine diarrhoea, the report said. The farms where the animals were kept have been cleaned and sterilized. The other imported animals were found to be healthy.

The alpacas were bought by a chain of farms which display animals as a tourist and leisure attraction. It was the 3rd time that Q fever had been found in Beijing among imported alpacas, the report said. The animals are usually bred for the fibre in their coat, which is similar to wool.

[Byline: Alice Yan]

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Communicated by:

PRO/MBDS

<promed-mbds@promedmail.org>

[Query (Q) fever is one of OIE's listed diseases and zoonosis caused by the intracellular, gram-negative bacteria _Coxiella burnetii_. Many species of mammals, birds, and ticks are reservoirs of _C. burnetii_ in nature. Q fever is usually an occupational disease of slaughterhouse workers and farmers. Transmission occurs via inhalation of a contaminated aerosol.

In China, Q fever was initially reported in 1950 and in the last 25 years (1989-2013) there have been 29 reports in China, nearly half of which were in the last 5 years. The overall prevalence of _Coxiella burnetii_ infections in the reports is 10 percent (1139/11 209) in people, 15 percent (288/1918) in cattle and 1 percent (176/1440) in goats. Cattle and goats had the highest seroprevalence of all the domestic animals studied and a wide variety of ticks were found to be infected [1].

Last year [2014], 3 alpacas were culled and destroyed by the Beijing Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau [CIQ] after being diagnosed with Elisa-type Q fever. This is the 1st time that China has ever identified Q fever from imported alpacas. See ProMED mail posting: Q fever - China: ex Chile, alpaca, RFI: 20140901.2740390

An alpaca ( _Vicugna pacos_ ) is a domesticated species of South American camelid. It resembles a small llama.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpaca>.

Any further information from knowledgeable sources regarding Q fever in alpacas in China would be appreciated.

Reference

1.      El-Mahallawy HS, Lu G, Kelly P  et al. Q fever in China: a

systematic review, 1989-2013. Epidemiol Infect. 2015:143(4):673-81.

doi: 10.1017/S0950268814002593. Epub 2014 Oct 2.

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=9568774&fileId=S0950268814002593

A HealthMap/ProMEDmail map of China can be seen at:

<http://healthmap.org/promed/p/155>.

Chile: <http://healthmap.org/promed/p/7>. - Mod.TTM]

[See Also:

2014

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Q fever - South Korea: Jeollabuk-do, sheep & goats, OIE:

20140629.2571733

For background information, see the references below, available on the

general ProMED-mail website at http://www.promedmail.org. - Mod.TTM

2014

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Q fever - China: ex Chile, alpaca, RFI : 20140901.2740390

Q fever- South Korea: (CB) animal, OIE 20140626.2567386

Q fever - Germany: (BY) human, animal 20140511.2464862

Q fever - Spain: (PV) 20140409.2393194

2013

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Q fever - French Guiana: (CY) virulent genotype, alert

20130625.1790517

Q fever - Brazil (02) (MG) NOT 20130619.1782145

Q fever - Brazil: (MG) 20130617.1777459

Q fever - Hungary: (BA) RFI 20130607.1760537

Q fever - Spain (02): (AN) background 20130504.1691296

Q fever - Spain: (AN) 20130503.1689392

Q fever - Argentina: (CB) ticks, 1st report 20130418.165591]

.................................................ttm/pg/st/mpp

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