Acid Tolerance of Coxiella burnetii Is Strain-Specific and Might Depend on Stomach Content

Sobotta K, Schulze-Lührmann J, Ölke M, Boden K, Lührmann A (2025)

Publication Language: English

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2025

Journal

Pathogens MDPI

Book Volume: 14

Article Number: 272

Journal Issue: 3

DOI: 10.3390/pathogens14030272

Abstract

Q fever is a zoonotic disease caused by the obligate intracellular bacterium Coxiella (C.) burnetii. Human infections occur mainly via inhalation, but infections via the oral route have been observed. Gastric acidic conditions (pH 2–4) are the first defense mechanism to limit food-associated infections. In this study, we tested the ability of C. burnetii to survive extremely acidic conditions (pH 2–3) to assess the risk of oral infection in humans. We treated different C. burnetii strains with different pH values and calculated the recovery rate by counting colony-forming units. The analysis of an additional eight C. burnetii strains showed that some strains are acid-resistant, while others are not. Importantly, the presence of pepsin, an endopeptidase and the main digestive enzyme in the gastrointestinal tract, increases the survival rate of C. burnetii. Similarly, the presence of milk might also increase the survival rate. These results suggest that oral infections by C. burnetii are possible and depend on the bacterial strain and the stomach microenvironment. Consequently, the digestive infection route of C. burnetii could play a role in the transmission of the pathogen.

Authors with CRIS profile

Jan Schulze-Lührmann Institute of Microbiology – Clinical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene Anja Lührmann Institute of Microbiology – Clinical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene

Involved external institutions

Universitätsklinikum Jena DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Sobotta, K., Schulze-Lührmann, J., Ölke, M., Boden, K., & Lührmann, A. (2025). Acid Tolerance of Coxiella burnetii Is Strain-Specific and Might Depend on Stomach Content. Pathogens, 14(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens14030272

MLA:

Sobotta, Katharina, et al. "Acid Tolerance of Coxiella burnetii Is Strain-Specific and Might Depend on Stomach Content." Pathogens 14.3 (2025).

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