Seroprevalence of Chlamydia abortus infection in yak (Bos grunniens) in Tibet, China

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Abstract
Chlamydiaspp. are prevalent zoonotic pathogens that infect a wide variety of host species.Chlamydia abortus(C. abortus) infection in yaks has been reported in Gansu and Qinghai province, China. However, no data aboutC. abortusinfection are available in yaks in Tibet, China. A total of 938 serum samples was collected from yaks in Tibet, China and specific antibodies againstC. abortuswere detected by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results showed that the overall seroprevalence ofC. abortusin yaks was 104/938 (11.1 %, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 9.1–13.1). The prevalence in female and male yaks was 59/556 (10.6 %, 95 % CI 8.0-13.2) and 45/382 (11.8 %, 95 % CI 8.5–15.0), respectively with no significant difference (p > 0.05). The seroprevalence of antibodies toC. abortusin yaks ranged from 8.0 to 18.2 % among the six different areas, and the difference was also without statistical significance (p > 0.05). The prevalence among different age groups ranged from 7.0 to 15.9 %, with a higher prevalence among 1 to 2 years age category. The results demonstrate the presence ofC. abortusinfection in yaks in Tibet and may pose a risk for the general yak populations in addition to its potential impact on public health and the local Tibetan economy. To our knowledge, this is the first seroprevalence survey ofC. abortusin yaks in Tibet, China.

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