Prevalence of community-acquired respiratory tract infections associated with Q fever in Japan.
A multicenter prospective cohort study to assess the occurrence and characteristics of acute Q fever associated with community acquired respiratory infections was performed. Among the 400 patients enrolled for the study, 10 (2.50%) patients (5 out of 120 cases of pneumonia, 3 out of 131 cases of acute bronchitis, and 2 out of 149 cases of upper respiratory infections) were diagnosed as having acute Q fever. Contact with dogs or cats before the onset of the disease was confirmed in most of the patients. The clinical profiles of these 10 patients were generally similar to those reported from other countries, such as fever, general fatigue and liver dysfunction, except for the predominance of sporadic cases among the urban population. Our study demonstrates that Q fever is not uncommon cause of community-acquired respiratory infections even in Japan.
Takahashi
Hiroshi
H
Department of Respiratory Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Division of Cancer Control, Institute of Development, Aging, and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
Tokue
Yutaka
Y
Kikuchi
Toru
T
Kobayashi
Takao
T
Gomi
Kazuhiro
K
Goto
Ikuo
I
Shiraishi
Hiroyuki
H
Fukushi
Hideto
H
Hirai
Katuya
K
Nukiwa
Toshihiro
T
Watanabe
Akira
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011778:Q Fever / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology