Q Fever (River Publishers Series in Research and Business Chronicles: Biotechnology and Medicine)

Q fever is a zoonotic disease caused by the highly infectious pathogen Coxiella burnetii and has global distribution with important health, social and economic implications. A number of other properties and characteristics of the causative agent and disease define Q fever as a lasting and difficult veterinary and epidemiological problem, namely: the adaptability of C. burnetii and its high resistance in the external environment; the possibility of the existence of the agent in three- and two-member parasitic systems; the availability of natural and agricultural foci of infection; peculiarities of pathogenesis in humans and animals and the mechanisms of excretion of the pathogen into the environment; and the high susceptibility of non-immune populations of animals and people.

Summarizing and the scientific facts and analyzing developments about Q Fever, the author goes on to propose a system for monitoring, control, and prevention, covering the main necessary actions, measures, and activities in the fight against this fever. There is an uneven level of knowledge of Q fever in animals and humans in various countries on the planet, while the assessment of the relevance of the problem is often ambiguous and unrealistic in terms of veterinary, medical, social, and economic aspects, which can result in an incomplete diagnosis, inaccurate information about the spread of disease, and lack of purposeful struggle.