Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Microbiology 2008-3289 9 4 2017 11 15 213 218 EN Mohammad Hassan Kayedi Department of Parasitology, School of Medicine, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran Hamid Mokhayeri Department of Communicable Diseases Control and Prevention, Health Center, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran Mehdi Birjandi Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran Ali Chegeni-Sharafi Department of Communicable Diseases Control and Prevention, Health Center, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran Saber Esmaeili Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran AND National Reference Laboratory for Plague, Tularemia and Q Fever, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Akanlu, Kabudar Ahang, Hamadan, Iran AND Department of Bacteriology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran Ehsan Mostafavi Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran AND National Reference Laboratory for Plague, Tularemia and Q Fever, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Akanlu, Kabudar Ahang, Hamadan, Iran 2017 03 04 Background and Objectives: Q fever is a zoonotic disease and farm animals serve as the main reservoir of the disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the seroprevalence of Q fever in sheep, in Lorestan province in western Iran. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 330 blood samples were collected from sheep, from each county in Lorestan province. The samples were tested by ELISA for the presence of immunoglobulin (IgG) against Coxiella burnetii. Results: Among the samples tested, 45 samples (13.64%) were seropositive. Of 35 studied herds, 21 (60%) had a history of infection. In terms of number of positive samples, there was no significant difference between the three geographical regions (central, west and east) (p=0.687). There was no statistically significant difference between age groups (p =0.604). Gender also had no effect on infection rates, in female and male sheep (p =0.814). No significant difference was observed between the number of lactation and positive serology (p =0.376). The rate of infection with Q fever and abortion also had no statistically significant difference (p =0.152). Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that sheep in Lorestan were infected by Q fever and the cycle of disease transmission had been established between animals and ticks. https://ijm.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijm/article/view/1298 https://ijm.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijm/article/download/1298/740