Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-8zxtt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-11T01:03:13.773Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Q Fever in Britain: Isolation of Rickettsia Burneti from Placenta and Wool of Sheep in an Endemic Area*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2009

M. G. P. Stoker
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge
R. D. Brown
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge
F. J. L. Kett
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge
P. C. Collings
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge
B. P. Marmion
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

1. In an endemic area of Q fever in south-east England, two flocks of sheep, with serological evidence of infection by Rickettsia burneti, were examined for excretion of the rickettsia at parturition.

2. R. burneti was isolated from two out of ninety-six placentas collected from 118 ewes which lambed in one flock. The organism was also isolated from ‘wool tags’ obtained from one of the ewes which voided an infected placenta.

3. Infectivity titrations showed that the two placentas contained respectively 104·5 and 101·5 guinea-pig infective doses per gram of cotyledon. The wool tag from the sheep which voided the more highly infected placenta contained 103·25 infective doses per gram.

4. Except for one doubtful result, which could not be confirmed, no isolations were made from 194 placentas collected from 199 ewes in the other flock.

Details of the design of the microblender were supplied by Dr A. P. Goffe and Mr T. Nash of the Central Public Health Laboratory, Colindale, to whom we are much indebted. A gift of Triton X-100 was kindly given to us by the Rohm and Haas Corporation, Philadelphia 5 Pa.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1955

References

Abinanti, F. R., Lennette, E. H., Winn, J. C. & Welsh, H. H. (1953). Amer. J. Hyg. 58, 385.Google Scholar
Abinanti, F. R., Welsh, H. H., Winn, J. F. & Lennette, E. H. (1955). Amer. J. Hyg. (in the Press).Google Scholar
Caminopetros, J. P. (1948). Ann. Parasit. hum. comp. 23, 107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jellison, W. L., Welsh, H. H., Elson, B. E. & Huebner, R. J. (1950). Publ. Hlth Rep., Wash., 65, 395.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marmion, B. P., Stewart, J., Richmond, P., Barber, H. & Stoker, M. G. P. (1954). Lancet, i, 1288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marmion, B. P. & Stoker, M. G. P. (1950). Lancet, ii, 611.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marmion, B. P., Stoker, M. G. P., McCoy, J. H., Malloch, R. A. & Moore, B. (1953). Lancet, i, 503.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Slavin, G. (1952). Vet. Rec. 64, 743.Google Scholar
Smadel, J. E., Snyder, M. J. & Robbins, F. C. (1948). Amer. J. Hyg. 47, 71.Google Scholar
Stoker, M. G. P. & Marmion, B. P. (1955). J. Hyg., Camb., 53, 322.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Welsh, H. H., Lennette, E. H., Abinanti, F. R. & Winn, J. F. (1951). Publ. Hlth Rep., Wash., 66, 1473.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Winn, J. F., Lennette, E. H., Welsh, H. H. & Abinanti, F. R. (1953). Amer. J. Hyg. 58, 183.Google Scholar