Poster presented in 4th Med-Vet-Net Annual Scientific Meeting 2015 (Global Challenges in Zoonoses: Combating Emerging Threats using a One-Health Approach)

October 8^th, 2015

Garcia-Seco T., Perez-Sancho M., Martinez-Nevado E., Alvarez J., Santiago-Moreno J., Goyache J., Dominguez L. and Garcia N.

Coxiella burnetii, the causative agent of Q fever, can infect a wide range of host species, but limited information on the occurrence and implications of infection in wild species exists. This study describes a natural infection in a population of dorcas gazelle (Gazella dorcas) from a Zoo. A nine year-old Saharawi dorcas gazelle (Gazella dorcas neglecta) male tested positive on ELISA and fecal PCR. Despite treatment with oxytetracycline, the animal did not clear the infection after six months, as confirmed by a PCR test on a semen sample. This is the first report of a Saharawi dorcas gazelle infection with C. burnetii, and the first time that C. burnetii was detected in semen from a zoo animal, suggesting a possible way of spread in captive wild species. This may have major implications for management of zoo populations, particularly in endangered species

	Servicio de Zoonosis Emergentes, de Baja Prevalencia y Agresivos Biológicos (NED). Centro de Vigilancia Sanitaria Veterinaria (VISAVET). Universidad Complutense (UCM).
	CEI Campus Moncloa.
	Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM).
	Zoo Aquarium de Madrid. Grupo Parques (Parques Reunidos, S.A.).
	Department of Veterinary Population Medicine. College of Veterinary Medicine. University of Minnesota (UMM).
	Departamento de Reproducción Animal. Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA).
	Departamento de Sanidad Animal. Facultad de Veterinaria. Universidad Complutense (UCM).