Author(s): Dahlgren FS, McQuiston JH, Massung RF, Anderson AD
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Abstract Q fever is a worldwide zoonosis historically associated with exposure to infected livestock. This study summarizes cases of Q fever, a notifiable disease in the United States, reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through two national surveillance systems with onset during 2000-2012. The overall incidence rate during this time was 0.38 cases per million persons per year. The reported case fatality rate was 2.0\%, and the reported hospitalization rate was 62\%. Most cases (61\%) did not report exposure to cattle, goats, or sheep, suggesting that clinicians should consider Q fever even in the absence of livestock exposure. The prevalence of drinking raw milk among reported cases of Q fever (8.4\%) was more than twice the national prevalence for the practice. Passive surveillance systems for Q fever are likely impacted by underreporting and underdiagnosis because of the nonspecific presentation of Q fever. © The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
This article was published in Am J Trop Med Hyg
and referenced in Journal of Tropical Diseases & Public Health