Seroepidemiology of Q fever among domestic animals in Nova Scotia.

We used the indirect microimmunofluorescence test to determine the presence of antibodies in sheep, cattle, goat, cat, and dog sera to phase I and II Coxiella burnetii antigens in Nova Scotia. Only 6.7 per cent of the 329 sheep tested had antibodies to phase II antigen and none had antibodies to phase I. Of 29 goats tested, 7 per cent and 3.5 per cent had antibodies to phase II and phase I antigens, respectively. In contrast, 23.8 per cent of the 214 cattle tested had antibodies to phase II antigen, and 24.2 per cent had antibodies to phase I antigen; 24.1 per cent of 216 cats tested had antibodies to phase II antigen and 6 per cent had antibodies to phase I antigen. None of the 447 dogs tested had antibodies detected. We conclude that cattle and cats may be reservoirs for human Q fever in Nova Scotia.