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‘Q fever in goats’ involves the cultivation of C. burnetii and the characterisation of C. burnetii of the different genotypes that exist in the Netherlands. It also involves the survival of C. burnetii in manure, the different infection routes, the development of immunity, the shedding of C. burnetii in pregnant and non-pregnant goats and general information on the pathogeneses of C. burnetii.
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‘Assessment of the virulence of C. burnetii strains in goats’ addresses the question if the current Dutch strain in goats is more virulent than other C. burnetii strains.
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‘Pathogeneses of Q fever’ studies the pathogenesis of C. burnetii infections in goats; the role of pregnancy in the pathogenesis of C. burnetii infections; the build up of cellular and humoral immunity; differences in virulence of C. burnetii strains in goats and the protective immunity of natural infection. With the knowledge of the pathogenesis and the within herd transmission, the results of diagnostic testing can better be understood.
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‘Inventory of Q fever strains in cattle, sheep, dogs and cats’ studies the relation between Q fever human patients and possible animal sources. The aim is to compare Q fever strains found in different animal species with the strains found in human patients. This is important to be able to exclude animals other than dairy goats as a source of human infections.
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‘Effectiveness of vaccination’ compares field studies previously carried out in particular in France with new field studies in the Netherlands to assess the effectiveness of vaccination of goats against Q fever.
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‘Search for suitable means of disinfection’ aims at identifying suitable products for disinfection and to assess whether materials like wood, straw, ground and manure can be effectively disinfected. The project includes: (i) the definition of criteria for disinfection products; (ii) the inactivation of C. burnetii and C. burnetii spores in clean fluids; (iii) the inactivation of C. burnetii and C. burnetii spores on complex materials and in manure; and (iv) the inactivation of C. burnetii and C. burnetii spores on complex surfaces.