Q fever

Abstract

Q fever is the illness in man due to infection with the microorganism Coxiella burnetii. It is a zoonosis and its epidemiology is closely linked to the animal reservoirs of the causative microorganism, C. burnetii. Important elements of the epidemiology of this infection can be learned from the history of its discovery and early investigations; a consideration of the macro-epidemiology at the level of a country; knowledge about the microorganism and the routes of transmission; the epidemiology of Coxiellosis in animals; and finally exploration of the epidemiology at a local level and the lessons learned from outbreaks. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009.