Volume: 4 Issue: 3
Year: 2016, Page: 42-46,
Introduction: Zoonotic diseases remain a significant cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the world. Q fever is considered as an emerging and re-emerging zoonosis of global concern. Disease is caused by Coxiella burnetii, an intracellular, Gram negative organism, which is prevalent throughout the world. Despite the fact that Q fever is important from public health and economic point of view, it remains poorly reported and its surveillance is mostly neglected. It has extensive reservoirs that include mammals, birds, and arthropods, mainly the ticks. Domestic ruminants are considered as the main reservoirs for the pathogen, which can infect wide range of hosts. Coxiella burnetii can cause reproductive problems in domestic animals. During an abortion in animal, about 1 billion C. bunetii per gram of placenta are excreted. Different mode of transmission is observed in Q fever. Disease outbreaks have been associated with slaughterhouses, farms, and institutions with intensive sheep rearing programs. The clinical manifestations of Q fever range from no symptoms to pneumonia, hepatitis, and endocarditis. Because the clinical signs of Q fever are nonspecific, laboratory evidence of infection is needed for making an unequivocal diagnosis. A number of antibiotics such as doxycycline, erythromycin, and clarithromycin are helpful in the treatment of patient. Fatality rate in untreated patients is high. Since human-to-human transmission is extremely rare and Q fever is mainly an airborne disease, measures of prevention are aimed at avoiding the exposure of humans and particularly persons at risk, to animal and environmental contamination. Therefore, improvements in surveillance, such as increasing medical reporting, and making animal infections notifiable is needed. It is emphasized to undertake detailed comprehensive study to determine the prevalence and incidence of Q fever, which has emerged as a significant public health problem in many regions of the world.
Keywords: Coxiella burnetii, Human, Q fever, Reservoirs, Zoonosis.
1. Pal, M. 2007. Zoonoses. 1st Ed .Satyam Publishers, Jaipur, India.
2. Pal, M. 2013. Public health concern due to emerging and re-emerging zoonoses. International Journal of Livestock Research 3:56-62.
3. Norlander, L. 2000. Q fever epidemiology and pathogenesis. Microbes Infection 2:417-424.
4. Woldehiwet, Z. 2004. Q fever (coxiellosis): epidemiology and pathogenesis. Veterinary Research Science 77: 93- 100.
5. Pape, M., Mandraveli, K., Arvanitidou-Vagiona, M., Nikolaidis, P. and Alexiou-Daniel. S. 2009. Q fever in northern Greece: epidemiological and clinical data from 58 acute and chronic cases. Clinical Microbiology and Infection 15: 150–151.
6. Hawker, J.I., Ayres, J.G. and Blair, I. 1998. A large outbreak of Q fever in the West Midlands: windborne spread into a metropolitan area. Community Disease and Public Health 1:180–187.
7. Pal, M. 2006. Coxiellosis: A rickettial zoonosis. Veterinary World 4: 127-128.
8. Aitken, I.D., Bogel, K. and Cracea, E. 1987. Q fever in Europe: Current aspects of etiology, epidemiology, human infection, diagnosis and therapy. Infection 15:323–327.
9. OIE .2010. Terrestrial Manual of Office International des Epizzoties. OIE, Paris, France Pp 2-3.
10. Miceli, M.H., Veryser, A.K., Anderson, A.D., Hofinger, D., Lee, S.A. and Tancik, C. 2010. A case of person- to- person transmission of Q fever from an active duty service man to his spouse. Vector borne and Zoonotic Diseases 10:539- 541.
11. Richardus, J.H., Dumas, A.M., Huisman, J. and Schaap, G.J. 1985. Q fever in infancy: A review of 18 cases. Pediatric Infectious Disease 4:369–373.
12. Raoult, D., Tissot-Dupont, H., Foucault, C., Gouvernet, J., Fournier, P.E. and Bernit, E. 2000. Q fever 1985–1998. Clinical and epidemiologic features of 1,383 infections. Medicine 79:124–125.
13. Angelakis, E. and Raoult, D. 2009. Q fever. Veterinary Microbiology 140: 297-309.
14. Bildfell, R.J., Thomson, G.W. and Haines, D.M. 2000. Coxiella burnetii infection is associated with placentitis in cases of bovine abortion. Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation 12:419–425.
15. Dave, S., Dave, P. and Pal, M.2015.The impact of climate change on the emergence and re-emergence of vector borne human diseases. International Journal of Livestock Research 5:1-10.
16. Arricau-Bouvery, N. and Rodolakis, A. 2005. Is Q fever an emerging or re-emerging zoonosis? Veterinary Research 36:327-349.
17. Webster, J.P., Lloyd, G. and Macdonald, D.W. 1995. Q fever (Coxiella burnetii) reservoir in wild brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) populations in the UK. Parasitology 110:31– 35.
18. Babudieri, B. 1959. Q fever: a zoonosis. Advanced Veterinary Science 5: 81–182.
19. McKeline, P. 1980. Q fever in a Queensland meat worker. Medical Journal of Australia 160: 704-708.
20. Maltezou, H.C. and Raoult, D. 2002. Q fever in children. The Lancet Infectious Diseases 2: 686–691.
21. Ascher, M.S., Berman, M.A. and Ruppanner, R. 1983. Initial clinical and immunologic evaluation of a new phase I Q fever vaccine and skin test in humans. Journal of Infectious Disease 148:214–222.
22. Kuley R, Smith HE, Janse I, et al. 2016. First complete genome sequence of the Dutch veterinary Coxiella burnetii strain NL3262, originating from the largest global Q Fever outbreak, and draft genome sequence of its epidemiologically linked chronic human isolate NLhu3345937. Genome Announcements. 2016; 4(2):e00245-16. doi:10.1128/genomeA.00245-16
23. Sobotta K, Hillarius K, Mager M, Kerner K, Heydel C, Menge C.2016. Coxiella burnetii infects primary bovine macrophages and limits their host cell response. Infect Immun. 2016 May 24; 84(6):1722-34. doi: 10.1128/ IAI.01208-15
24. De Rooij MMT, Borlée F, Smit LAM, et al.2016. Detection of Coxiella burnetii in ambient air after a large Q fever outbreak. Carpenter DO, ed. PLoS ONE. 2016; 11(3):e0151281. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0151281.
25. Sandoz KM, Popham DL, Beare PA, et al.2016. Transcriptional profiling of Coxiella burnetii reveals extensive cell wall remodeling in the small cell variant developmental form. Ganta RR, ed. PLoS ONE. 2016;11(2):e0149957. doi:10.1371/ journal.pone.0149957.
26. Hechemy KE. History and prospects of Coxiella burnetii research. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2012; 984:1-11. doi: 10.1007/ 978-94-007-4315-1_1
27. Moffatt JH, Newton P, Newton HJ.2015. Coxiella burnetii: turning hostility into a home. Cell Microbiol. 2015 May;17(5):621-31. doi: 10.1111/cmi.12432
28. Van Schaik EJ, Chen C, Mertens K, Weber MM, Samuel JE. Molecular pathogenesis of the obligate intracellular bacterium Coxiella burnetii. Nature reviews Microbiology. 2013;11(8):561-573. doi:10.1038/nrmicro3049.
29. Larson CL, Martinez E, Beare PA, Jeffrey B, Heinzen RA, Bonazzi M.2016. Right on Q: genetics begin to unravel Coxiella burnetii host cell interactions. Future Microbiol. 2016 Jul; 11:919-39. doi: 10.2217/fmb-2016-0044
30. Martinez E, Allombert J, Cantet F, Lakhani A, Yandrapalli N, Neyret A, Norville IH, Favard C, Muriaux D, Bonazzi M. Coxiella burnetii effector CvpB modulates phosphoinositide metabolism for optimal vacuole development. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016 Jun 7;113(23):E3260-9. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1522811113
Hadush A, Kandi V, Pal M. Epidemiology and public health implications of Q fever. Perspectives in medical research 2016; 4(3):42-46.