Abstract
Background: A zoonotic disease of global importance known as “Q fever” is caused by Coxiella burnetii agent. The aim of the present research was to determine C. burnetii in the traditional and industrial butter and cream samples in Shahrekord, Iran.
Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from March to September 2016. Totally, 200 traditional and industrial butter and cream samples were collected from retailers in different regions of Shahrekord and then tested for C. burnetii via nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays.
Results: In this survey, a total of 6 out of 200 samples (3%) were found to be positive for C. burnetii. More precisely, 4 (5.79%), 1 (5%), and 1 (2.56%) samples were related to the traditional bovine cream, traditional sheep butter, and traditional bovine butter samples, respectively. Nevertheless, no C. burnetii infections were found in the industrial butter and cream samples.
Conclusions: These results proved that traditional dairy products can be considered as an important reservoir for C. burnetii infection in Iran.