Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Urmia University Veterinary Research Forum 2008-8140 16 8 2025 08 01 Coxiella burnetii in dogs and ticks from the Northeastern Anatolia region of Türkiye: serological and molecular findings 431 437 725427 10.30466/vrf.2024.2035315.4359 EN Aliye Gülmez Sağlam Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kafkas University, Kars, Türkiye 0000-0002-7639-5075 Elif Çelik Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kafkas University, Kars, Türkiye 0000-0003-4531-3863 Fatih Büyük Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kafkas University, Kars, Türkiye 0000-0003-3278-4834 Gencay Taşkın Taşçi Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kafkas University, Kars, Türkiye 0000-0002-8590-1101 Seda Gökdemir Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kafkas University, Kars, Türkiye Nilgün Aydin Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kafkas University, Kars, Türkiye 0000-0002-0571-7882 Eray Büyük Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kafkas University, Kars, Türkiye 0000-0003-2071-8901 Salih Otlu Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kafkas University, Kars, Türkiye 0000-0001-8490-2279 Journal Article 2024 07 11 The Q fever is a zoonotic bacterial infection caused by an obligate intra-cellular bacterium, <em>Coxiella burnetii</em>. Members of the Canidae family (Mammalia), including dogs and foxes, are potential reservoirs of <em>C. burnetii</em>, which has a wide host range from mammals and birds to arthropods (primarily ticks). Infected dogs can transmit the disease to other animals and humans. This study aimed to investigate the presence of <em>C. burnetii</em> in dogs and ticks collected from infested dogs in the Kars, Ardahan, and Iğdir provinces of Türkiye by serological and molecular methods. Three hundred canine serum samples were analyzed for phase I and phase II <em>C. burnetii</em> antibodies using indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Whole blood samples (n = 300) from the dogs sampled for sera and 184 ticks<strong> </strong>randomly collected from these dogs were also analyzed for <em>C. burnetii</em> with touch-down polymerase chain reaction. The ticks were classified according to the taxonomic characteristics. In result, 107 tick DNA samples collected from individual females and pooled males were evaluated. The <em>C. burnetii</em> was detected in 3.73% (of the tick samples. However, <em>C. burnetii</em> was not detected in any of the canine blood samples by polymerase chain reaction. Out of the 300 dogs, 18.33% presented antibodies against <em>C. burnetii</em> in their blood serum. When assessed for location, <em>C. burnetii</em> seropositivity was found to be significantly high especially in the Northeastern Anatolia region (18.33%). Study data highlighted the zoonotic risk of ticks, demonstrating that ticks on dogs can carry <em>C. burnetii</em>. https://vrf.iranjournals.ir/article_725427_a94126751a593a05298f7266e6c8fd41.pdf