molecular detection of coxiella burnetii in ticks isolated from domestic animals in slaughterhouses and farms, shahr-e-rey, tehran, iran

Background: coxiella burnetii causes q fever, a zoonotic and vector-borne disease. ticks serve as vectors for this bac­terium. this study aimed to determine the prevalence of c. burnetii infection in ticks in shahr-e-rey county, tehran province.methods: from december 2016 to november 2017, 179 ticks were collected on sheep at animal husbandry facilities and slaughterhouses located in shahr-e-rey, tehran province. tick samples were morphologically identified and evalu­ated for the presence of the c. burnetii is1111 gene using real-time pcr.results: ticks were classified into four genera: hyalomma (66.48%), rhipicepalus (23.47%), dermacentor (7.26%), and ornithodoros (2.79%). furthermore, 35.20% of the ticks were hyalomma nymphs.all 77 ticks were pooled by species, and c. burnetii was found in 22.08% (n= 17). ornithodoros lahorensis was the most prevalent tick infected with c. burnetii.conclusion: the distribution of c. burnetii and reports of q fever from various regions of the country strongly suggest that the monitoring system should give this disease more attention.