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. 2018 Jul;146(10):1240-1244.
doi: 10.1017/S0950268818001395. Epub 2018 Jun 26.

Q fever: an under-reported reportable communicable disease

Harvey W Kaufman  1 , Zhen Chen  1 , Jeff Radcliff  1 , Hollis J Batterman  1 , John Leake  1
Affiliations

Q fever: an under-reported reportable communicable disease

Harvey W Kaufman et al. Epidemiol Infect. 2018 Jul.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to provide real-world clinical laboratory-based data to supplement Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting of Q fever. We analysed titre results of specimens submitted to a large US clinical laboratory for Coxiella burnetii IgG antibody testing from 2010 through 2016. Presumptive Q fever was defined as acute (phase II IgG titre ⩾1:128, phase I titre <1:1024) or chronic (phase I IgG titre ⩾1:1024), based on the results from a single serum specimen. During 2010-2016, an average of 328 presumptive acute Q fever cases were identified at Quest each year, nearly three times the annual average reported to the CDC (122). During the same period, the number of chronic cases identified annually at Quest Diagnostics (34) was similar to that reported to the CDC (29). These findings suggest that CDC data may underestimate the incidence of acute Q fever.

Keywords: Coxiella burnetii; Q fever; reportable diseases.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors are full-time employees of Quest Diagnostics. The authors have indicated that they have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Acute Q fever cases reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and identified at Quest Diagnostics. CDC data are for the reporting year and include both confirmed and probable cases. Quest Diagnostics data represent laboratory-supported (probable) cases in the testing year.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Chronic Q fever cases reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and identified at Quest Diagnostics. CDC data are for the reporting year and include both confirmed and probable cases. Quest Diagnostics data represent laboratory-confirmation (confirmed) cases in the testing year.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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