marginatus, and canids for all stages of R. sanguineus. Adult H. lusitanicum and D. marginatus normally feed on large ungulates. Animals present in the tick study areas included, apart from cattle, high densities of rabbits and other wildlife. It is to note that 40 liver samples from rabbits hunted in Gran Canaria analyzed by PCR were all negative (data not shown), although more studies are needed. Whether some of the above mentioned animals may act

as reservoirs for GG VII C. burnetii remains to be studied. Interestingly, in 7 cattle samples from 4 distant regions, only GG III was detected. In the study of Arricau-Bouvery [13] most of the cattle isolates (12/14) analyzed by MLVA also grouped together in a clade that is close but different to the one that click here include GG I isolates, as in this study. In Beare’s study GG III is also philogenetically close to GG I and both clades appear together in Cl-amidine supplier the tree. This GG having never been found in humans in Spain so far lead us to hypothesize that cattle could represent a low risk for Q fever transmission to humans

in our country. One of the added values of the method described here is that it could be applied to any PCR-positive sample carrying at least 10 genome equivalents of the target organism, thus avoiding the need for culturing the organism to obtain data on the global circulation Dasatinib in vitro of C. burnetii. The frequent lack of human isolates from outbreaks, which are needed to apply the yet described methods, hamper a correct outbreak study that are necessary to identify the source of infection. This methodology allows the characterization directly from clinical samples avoiding the culture step of this fastidious bacterium, and proves to be valuable identifying so far 10 different GTs circulating in Spain. This method can be performed in any laboratory with basic equipment. It can easily determine relationships among C. burnetii from different origins by using PCR-positive samples, thus helping in the

identification of the source of an outbreak in a rapid analysis. Conclusions The method described here is rapid, reproducible and sensitive. It can be applied directly to clinical and environmental samples, and is able to identify up to 16 GT. This Carbohydrate will facilitate the acquisition of global data on the circulation of GT of this organism. We have found a high variability of C. burnetii in Spain, with 10 GTs found in different settings, 5 of them in human samples. Interestingly, all the samples from acute cases of FID with liver involvement were produced by adaA negative microorganisms, while the only case of pneumonia available for the study was caused by a adaA positive strain. Moreover, the majority (12 cases) of the 13 chronic cases studied were produced by organisms of GG IV-, except for a case of vascular infection (GG VIII +). Regarding livestock, human cases share GTs with sheep and goats, but the only GT found in cattle has never been found in humans.