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Bacterial Diseases: Slate Wipers and Current Concerns |
Chapter: 18
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Sheep, Pythons, and Q Fever Since Q fever was first reported in 1937, sporadic outbreaks and epidemics have occurred in over 50 countries on five continents. Though often associated with dairy cattle, the disease may be traced to other animals as the following cases illustrate.
In 1979, Q fever was identified in an American who had recently returned from the Middle East. The traveler had joined a group tour for a camel ride through the countryside in Jordan. When the group paused at an oasis, he remained behind long enough to be exposed to a dust cloud from a Bedouin’s flock of goats and sheep. Several days later he was ill with disease.
The second outbreak occurred in 1978 at a Long Island, New York, firm that imported pythons from Ghana. The employees were responsible for removing ticks from the snakes. Apparently, several were either bitten by the ticks or exposed to their excrement. Four individuals soon came down with Q fever.
Another incident took place in Switzerland in 1983 and involved hundreds of cases. The epidemic began shortly after October 9, when 12 flocks of sheep were brought down from their mountain pastures. From October 15 to December 15, more than 300 persons reported Q fever symptoms, and 191 cases were diagnosed by laboratory tests. The highest attack rates occurred in people living close to the road on which the sheep traveled. Among the sheep, 166 of 432 tested showed evidence of the disease.
Fortunately Q fever need not be a fatal disease. The Middle East traveler, the python workers, and the Swiss residents were treated with tetracycline. All recovered.
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