Q-fever
Q fever is a zoonosis (disease that can be transmitted from animals to man) caused by the strictly intracellular bacterium Coxiella burnetii, which proceeds asymptomatic and self-limiting in 60% of the cases. The infectious organism is commonly found in cattle, sheep, goats and other domestic mammals. The infection results from inhalation of contaminated particles of the inhaled air. The incubation time is 9-40 days. It is considered possibly the most infectious disease in the world, as a human being can be infected by a single bacterium.
The most common manifestation is flu-like symptoms with abrupt onset of fever, malaise, severe headache, myalgia (muscle pain), loss of appetite, dry cough, pleuritic pain, chills, confusion and gastro-intestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. The fever lasts approximately 7-14 days. An antibiotics treatment is very effective.
