An Outbreak of Cat-Associated Q Fever in the United States

Abstract

Q fever is usually acquired by contact with aerosols generated during parturition of domestic ungulates (e.g., sheep, cows, goats). In the maritime provinces of Canada, parturient cats have also been implicated in its transmission. A 66-year-old woman from eastern Maine developed high fever, rigors, headache, myalgias, pulmonary infiltrates, and elevated hepatocellular enzymes, and the diagnosis of acute Q fever was confirmed serologically. She and 14 other family members had attended a family reunion in Maine 2 weeks earlier, when they were exposed to a parturient cat. All 11 adults and older children attending the reunion developed symptoms consistent with acute Q fever. Serum samples were obtained from 10 who attended the reunion and 8 who did not attend. Titers greater than or equal to 1:64 to Coxiella burnetii were present in all who attended the reunion but in none of those who did not. Cat-associated Q fever should be considered when sporadic cases of the disease occur in the United States.

Antibodies to Rickettsia rickettsii, Rickettsia typhi, Coxiella burnetii, Bartonella henselae, Bartonella quintana, and Ehrlichia chaffeensis among healthy population in Minas Gerais, Brazil

“…No clear-cut between rural and urban area and rural and non-rural professions in the Piau county exists and this could explain some discrepancies since many people superpose domestic and recreational tasks that facilitate closer animal and tick contact irrespective of their profession and residence place. Some formerly considered risk factors for infections like C. burnetii, are no longer thought as exclusive sources for contamination reinforcing the multiple ways of transmission for that particular agent (Pinsky et al 1991). In this sense, epidemiological investigation in a recent Q fever outbreak in French Guiana found an urban rather than rural pattern of infection distribution (Tran et al 2002) reinforcing this new paradigm.…”

Seroprevalence of Coxiella burnetii Infections among Cats in Different Living Environments

“…In the United States, cases of Q fever in which the source of infection was assumed to be cats have been reported [12], and the possibility of pets as a source of infection has been noted. In Japan, the opportunities for contact with pet dogs and cats have been increasing along with the popularity of these animals.…”

“…In foreign countries [2,13], C. burnetii has often been transmitted from domestic livestock, and reports of cases or investigations of C. burnetii infection from pets are scarce [8,12]. On the other hand, as no significant difference was observed in the prevalence of C. burnetii infection in pet cats between Korea and Japan, cats may be able to mediate C. burnetii infection also in Korea, and transmission of C. burnetii from pets to humans is not considered to be characteristic of Japan, where C. burnetii infection appears to occur frequently without contact with domestic livestock.…”

Q fever

“…Cats and dogs are also susceptible to infection and may transmit C burnetii to humans. 6,33,34 Antibodies against C burnetii have been detected among many wildlife species, including snowshoe hares, moose, and white-tailed deer in Nova Scotia; wild Dall sheep in Alaska; and black bears in Idaho and California.…”