Q Fever - UK (England): Alert, RFI

[hawkeye]

ProMed

Q FEVER - UK (ENGLAND): ALERT, REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

Date: Fri 20 Jul 2007
Source: UK Health Protection Report [edited]
<http://www.hpa.org.uk/hpr/news/default.htm#qfever>


Avon, Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire Health Protection unit has
received 5 reports of acute Q fever with onset dates between the end
of May and 14 Jun 2007. All 5 confirmed cases are residents of the
town of Cheltenham (Gloucestershire), population 109 800. There had
been no cases reported in Gloucestershire since 2002. The cases
reported in Cheltenham did not have any occupational risk factors.
Although all 5 cases reported possible environmental risk factors, no
common exposures have been identified so far.

Q fever (caused by _Coxiella burnetti_) is thought to account for
approximately one percent of community acquired pneumonia in the UK
each year and can result in serious complications such as
endocarditis. The main reservoir is sheep and other animals that can
shed massive numbers in placental tissues. The main reservoirs are
sheep, goats and cattle. Transmission of Q fever occurs primarily
through inhalation of contaminated aerosols. The organism is robust
and can survive in dust and animal litter for many weeks and in dried
blood for at least 6 months at room temperature. The most infectious
animal materials are the fluids of birth and afterbirth, followed by
blood, milk, urine and feces. Such infectious materials can be
derived from livestock as above or from domestic animals,
particularly parturient cats.

Although Q fever is rare in the UK, it is more common in the
southwest of England and Northern Ireland, probably because of higher
exposure to animal sources. The Health Protection Unit would be
grateful for information on any cases of Q fever who have visited
Gloucestershire during the incubation period (2 to 3 weeks, depending
on the infective dose)

 

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Q Fever - UK (England): Alert, RFI

Cue a mystery as Q fever strikes 28

http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,,2174079,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront

A rare but highly infectious outbreak of Q fever is being investigated after health officials confirmed that 28 people in Gloucestershire had contracted the bug, which is spread by livestock. The victims, aged between 40 and 70, are all from the Cheltenham area and have responded well to hospital treatment.

Q - standing for query - fever, so-called because for many years its cause was unknown, can cause severe pneumonia in people but usually appears as a strong but treatable, flu.

A team led by the Health Protection Agency is looking at how residents may have caught the infection, which is caused by Coxiella burnetii and is carriedby cattle, sheep and goats and can be transmitted through the air, making the source of outbreaks difficult to trace.

Contact with livestock or animal products is often enough to catch Q fever, although it is dangerous only in a few cases. GPs across the area have been asked to consider Q fever when testing any patients who show pneumonia-like symptoms. Farms and vets have been alerted.

Deirdre Lewis, an epidemiologist for the HPA leading the investigation, said the outbreak probably started in the spring and incubated for several months.

"Q fever is generally a mild infection but we know it can cause complications, so we've been keen to look into this as thoroughly as we can. We've not had any reported cases in Gloucestershire since 2002, so seeing 28 is unusual," Dr Lewis said.

Q fever is found in animal birth fluids, blood, milk and urine, and outbreaks are often associated with lambing season. An outbreak in Solihull in 1989 led to 147 human cases.