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. 2020 May;26(5):993-997.
doi: 10.3201/eid2605.190242.

Capybara and Brush Cutter Involvement in Q Fever Outbreak in Remote Area of Amazon Rain Forest, French Guiana, 2014

Jacques-Robert Christen, Sophie Edouard, Thierry Lamour, Enguerrane Martinez, Claire Rousseau, Franck de Laval, François Catzeflis, Félix Djossou, Didier Raoult, Vincent Pommier de Santi, Loïc Epelboin

Capybara and Brush Cutter Involvement in Q Fever Outbreak in Remote Area of Amazon Rain Forest, French Guiana, 2014

Jacques-Robert Christen et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2020 May.

Abstract

We investigated a Q fever outbreak that occurred in an isolated area of the Amazon Rain Forest in French Guiana in 2014. Capybara fecal samples were positive for Coxiella burnetii DNA. Being near brush cutters in use was associated with disease development. Capybaras are a putative reservoir for C. burnetii.

Keywords: Amazon Rain Forest; Comté River; Coxiella burnetii; French Guiana; Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris; MST17; Q fever; bacteria; brush cutter; capybara; grass trimmer; infectious aerosols; military personnel; multispacer sequence type 17; outbreak; pneumonia; sylvatic cycle; weed cutter; zoonoses.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Sample collection and animal trap sites around carbet used in environmental investigation of Q fever outbreak near Comté River in the Amazon Rain Forest area of French Guiana, 2014.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Feces of capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) (A) and image of capybara (B), French Guiana. The length of the middle fingernail, which is often used in the field for feces measurement, is 12 mm. Photographs by Nicolas Defaux, http://www.photographienature.com.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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