Q fever in Israel.
BACKGROUND
Q fever was first described over fifty years ago. While in a proportion of cases there is a clear etiologic link to farm animals, their products, and fomites, in the majority of cases no such association is apparent, and the mode of infection is a mystery.


METHODS
In this paper, we examine the reported incidence of Q fever in Israel since it was made notifiable in 1951, and in particular for the period 1981-1985, when special surveillance at national reference laboratories was carried out.


RESULTS
Age and sex as well as urban-rural distributions suggest the influence of occupation, but in the large majority of cases mode of transmission was unknown.


CONCLUSIONS
If our knowledge concerning the etiology of Q fever in Israel, and the means of preventing it, is to be advanced, each case should be investigated assiduously to uncover risk factors for exposure, and sero-epidemiologic studies carried out to identify geographic or occupational groups differentially infected.
Yarrow
A
A
Department of Epidemiology, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel.
Slater
P E
PE
Costin
C
C
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D011778:Q Fever / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D015047:Zoonoses