Coxiella burnetii is an obligate intracellular rickettsial organism and the causative agent of Query fever, a zoonosis that occurs worldwide. In Korea, C. burnetii infection had occurred in humans and animals. However, the studies were only conducted in geographically limited area for detection of C. burnetii. The objective of this study was to detect C. burnetii in Korean native cattle and dairy cattle nationwide by real-time PCR. The total of 807 blood samples from 622 Korean native cattle and 185 dairy cows, 170 individual milk samples of dairy cows, and 348 bulk tank milk samples of dairy herds were collected nationwide. From blood samples, C. burnetii was detected in 17 (2.7%) out of 622 Korean native cattle and 2 (1.1%) of 185 dairy cows. From milk samples, C. burnetii was detected in 27 (15.9%) out of 170 individual milk samples of dairy cows. And C. burnetii was detected in 84 (24.1%) of 348 bulk tank milk samples. In conclusion, this study revealed that the detection rates are considerably high in cattle and the infection of C. burnetii has been continuously occurring in cattle of Korea. In order to prevent the hazards of a zoonosis Q-fever that occur both humans and domestic animals, further studies are needed to clarify the epidemiology of Q-fever of domestic animals and humans in Korea.

Keywords: Coxiella burnetii, real-time PCR, Korean native cattle, dairy cattle