Q fever is caused by Coxiella bumetii bacterium and it is a serious infection damaging your liver, heart and other vital organs of the body. Actually, the bacteria would infect the cattle and birds as well as some insects and humans receive this infection by drinking the contaminated milk and droplets of these animals. Individuals who are maintaining cattle and dairy products and vet doctors who treat infected animals are at high risk of developing Q fever.
Symptoms :
Incubation period for these bacteria is about 20-25 days. Often the symptoms of Q fever are mild which include low grade fever, headache, dry cough, muscle pain, loss of appetite and joint pain. For severe cases it may cause skin rash, abdominal pain and chest pain. In rare cases it may produce jaundice like symptoms causing yellowish skin indicating liver problem. Q fever is an acute illness that gets treated within few days. However in some cases it can be chronic causing chills, fever (prolonged) and extreme fatigue.
How it is contracted?
Animals like goat and sheep would carry the microbial in their tissues related to birth. (like that of uterus, placenta and birth fluids). Such animals have the highest content of bacteria when they give birth to young ones. These carrier animals would also release the bacteria in their manure and even milk. Anyone who drinks that raw milk is prone to develop Q fever infection. Similarly people who inhale the spores and dusts that are contaminated with microbes are at high risk of developing this infection. There is every chance for the infection to get transmitted through direct skin contact with infected animals.
Soon after birth, most of the animals will eat the tissues released during birth. In that case, the bacteria would again enter into the digestive tract of these animals and survive through their intestine and released in the form of dung/manure. Thus Q fever has immense chance of spreading into the environment like soil, air and manure. Man can easily develop this infection when he deals with infected manure or soil directly.