Q fever in Bulgaria and Slovakia.
As a result of dramatic political and economic changes in the beginning of the 1990s, Q-fever epidemiology in Bulgaria has changed. The number of goats almost tripled; contact between goat owners (and their families) and goats, as well as goats and other animals, increased; consumption of raw goat milk and its products increased; and goats replaced cattle and sheep as the main source of human Coxiella burnetii infections. Hundreds of overt, serologically confirmed human cases of acute Q fever have occurred. Chronic forms of Q fever manifesting as endocarditis were also observed. In contrast, in Slovakia, Q fever does not pose a serious public health problem, and the chronic form of infection has not been found either in follow-ups of a Q-fever epidemic connected with goats imported from Bulgaria and other previous Q-fever outbreaks or in a serologic survey. Serologic diagnosis as well as control and prevention of Q fever are discussed.
Serbezov
V S
VS
National Center of Infectious and Parasite Diseases, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Kazár
J
J
Novkirishki
V
V
Gatcheva
N
N
Kovácová
E
E
Voynova
V
V
D000818:Animals; D002031:Bulgaria / Q000453:epidemiology; D002417:Cattle; D016997:Coxiella burnetii / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D006801:Humans; D011778:Q Fever / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D018154:Slovakia / Q000453:epidemiology