title: Suburban transmission of Q fever in French Guiana: evidence of a wild reservoir.
abstract: The annual incidence of Q fever in French Guiana was found to have increased in 1996 and was 37/100,000 population over the last 4 years. Subsequent investigations in Cayenne and its suburbs indicated that a wild reservoir of the bacteria was responsible for the epidemiologic pattern. A case-control study showed that residence near a forest and occupations and activities that result in exposure to aerosols of dusts from the soil are risk factors for Q fever. By means of time-series analysis, a strong positive correlation between rainfall and the incidence of Q fever with a time lag of 1-3 months was found. The spatial distribution of the cases showed that transmission occurs widely throughout greater Cayenne, which is incompatible with a pinpoint source of contamination. Transmission from livestock and dissemination of the bacteria by the wind appeared to be unlikely, which strengthens the hypothesis that a wild reservoir is responsible for transmission.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Epidémiologie, Institut Pasteur de la Guyane, 97306 Cayenne cedex, France. jgardon@pasteur-cayenne.fr
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gardon
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Héraud
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Laventure
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ladam
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Capot
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fouquet
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Favre
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hommel
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hulin
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Couratte
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Talarmin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000391:Air Microbiology; D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D001001:Anura; D001717:Birds; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002415:Cats; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002685:Chiroptera; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*; D016997:Coxiella burnetii / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D004391:Dust; D005260:Female; D005616:French Guiana / Q000453:epidemiology; D005843:Geography; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008394:Marsupialia; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D011778:Q Fever / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*; D012377:Rodentia; D012621:Seasons; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D013383:Suburban Population; D014505:Urban Population
chemical_list: D004391:Dust