What is Q fever Wikipedia?
Q fever or query fever is a disease caused by infection with Coxiella burnetii, a bacterium that affects humans and other animals. This organism is uncommon, but may be found in cattle, sheep, goats, and other domestic mammals, including cats and dogs.
How do you catch Q fever?
You can get infected with Q fever by:
- breathing in the bacteria that is in the air or dust:
- direct contact with infected animal tissue or fluids on broken skin (e.g. cuts or needlestick injuries when working with infected animals)
- drinking unpasteurised milk from infected cows, sheep and goats.
Is Q fever a virus?
Q fever is a disease caused by the bacteria Coxiella burnetii. This bacteria naturally infects some animals, such as goats, sheep, and cattle. C. burnetii bacteria are found in the birth products (i.e. placenta, amniotic fluid), urine, feces, and milk of infected animals.
What type of disease is Q fever?
Q fever is a bacterial infection affecting mainly the lungs, liver, and heart. It is found around the world and is caused by the bacteria Coxiella burnetii. The bacteria affects sheep, goats, cattle, dogs, cats, birds, rodents, and ticks.
Why is Q fever important?
Q fever is usually a mild disease with flu-like symptoms. Many people have no symptoms at all. In a small percentage of people, the infection can resurface years later. This more deadly form of Q fever can damage your heart, liver, brain and lungs.
What causes Q fever?
Q fever is a disease caused by the bacteria Coxiella burnetii.
What is Q fever vaccine?
The Q fever vaccine (Q-VAX®) has been licensed for use in Australia since 1989 and has shown to be highly effective in preventing Q fever infection in humans. Since the introduction of the vaccination for high- risk occupations, the rates of Q fever infection have dropped markedly. The vaccine is made in Australia.
What are the symptoms of Q fever in humans?
Signs and symptoms of Q fever may include:
- Fever.
- Chills or sweats.
- Fatigue (tiredness)
- Headache.
- Muscle aches.
- Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.
- Chest pain.
- Stomach pain.
What does Q fever stand for?
Q fever (the Q stands for query) is a disease caused by the bacterium, Coxiella burnetii (Cox-EE-ell-uh bur- net-EE-eye). The disease is found worldwide, except for New Zealand.
Is Q fever contagious from person to person?
Transmission of Q fever from Person to Person. Q fever is considered to be contagious between people. Generally the infectious agent may be transmitted by saliva, air, cough, fecal-oral route, surfaces, blood, needles, blood transfusions, sexual contact, mother to fetus, etc.
How is Q fever diagnosed?
Q fever is diagnosed with a blood antibody test. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), an antibody test frequently appears negative in the first seven to 10 days of sickness. Your doctor should use their best judgment to decide whether or not to begin treatment based on suspicion alone.
Is Q fever curable?
Chronic Q fever is usually fatal if left untreated. The outlook for patients with chronic Q fever depends on whether they have access to antibiotics. With timely treatment, the survival rate is 90 percent. People with chronic Q fever commonly have to take antibiotics for several years to prevent recurrence.