ABSTRACT
Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF), a potentially severe zoonotic viral disease causing fever and haemorrhagic manifestations in humans. As the Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) has been detected in ticks in Spain and antibodies against the virus in ruminant sera in Corsica, it was necessary to know more about the situation in France. In 2022-2023, CCHFV was detected in 155 ticks collected from horses and cattle in southern France.
Subject(s)
Hemorrhagic Fever Virus, Crimean-Congo , Hemorrhagic Fever, Crimean , Ixodidae , Ticks , Humans , Animals , Cattle , Horses , Hemorrhagic Fever Virus, Crimean-Congo/genetics , Hemorrhagic Fever, Crimean/diagnosis , Hemorrhagic Fever, Crimean/epidemiology , Hemorrhagic Fever, Crimean/veterinary , Zoonoses , France/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Isolation and identification of Taylorella equigenitalis, the causative agent of contagious equine metritis, by bacteriology is laborious and does not permit differentiation from the other member of the genus, Taylorella asinigenitalis. Moreover, other organisms such as Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa can also cause endometritis in mares and warrant diagnostic detection. Our objectives were to develop a rapid preparation method for field swab samples and to validate this protocol using new multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (rtPCR) detection tools for identification of these four pathogens. The complete analytical process from sample preparation to PCR analysis was then evaluated against bacteriology, the World Organisation for Health's (OIE) gold standard method for T. equigenitalis and commonly used for the other three pathogens. The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of this method, which used direct lysis and a multiplex rtPCR, were 100% and >92%, respectively. This study provided a simple-to-use method for prebreeding screening of mares and stallions.