An increase in the number of Q fever cases has prompted calls for residents in the Wide Bay area, in Queensland’s south-east, who work with animals to get vaccinated against the bacterial disease that can cause severe flu-like illness.
Queensland Health has been notified of 11 Q fever cases in the region this year, up from the usual three to seven cases identified by the same time in previous years.
Vaccination is being encouraged for anyone working in high-risk industries including as abattoir and meat workers, farmers, veterinarians, animal hunters, wildlife workers, and dog and cat breeders.
Q fever is caused by the bacteria Coxiella burnetii and is carried by animals such as cattle, sheep, goats and kangaroos. People become infected after breathing in contaminated droplets from dust, faeces, or urine. Person-to-person transmission is rare.
While some people develop no symptoms, others experience fever, headache, weight loss, nausea, cough, chills and fatigue, and may develop chronic fatigue. In rare cases it can also lead to inflammation of the liver, inflammation of the membrane around the brain or spinal cord, or pneumonia and other lung issues.
Dr Josette Chor from the Wide Bay public health unit said the increase in cases was possibly due to more wildlife being near residential areas.
“The bacteria that cause Q fever can exist in a variety of domestic and wild animal species such as kangaroos and wallabies,” she said.
“It can also persist in the general environment in dust and soil, which can lead to infection and disease. Dry and windy conditions can increase the risk of transmission to humans.
“If there are obvious animal droppings, please use a P2 mask – available from hardware stores – to undertake outdoor jobs such as mowing the lawn.
“It’s also important to always wash your hands after coming into contact with all animals or their faeces, especially before eating and drinking.”
Rowland Cobbold, an associate professor and lecturer in veterinary public health with the University of Queensland, said Q fever “is a pretty strange disease and quite complex epidemiologically”, and case numbers could vary by year and location.
“Mostly, Q fever is the result of exposure to livestock when there is an outbreak among farm animals, but sometimes spread can be weather-dependent. So if it’s drier, you get more dust, and this virus is transferred through air and dust. It can also be transmitted by other animals, including wildlife and even ticks.
“We can propose a few reasons for outbreaks, but sometimes we will never really exactly which one is the cause.”
People must be screened and tested before they are vaccinated against Q fever. For more information see http://www.qfever.org/
