title: Prevalence of community-acquired respiratory tract infections associated with Q fever in Japan.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Division of Cancer Control, Institute of Development, Aging, and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tokue
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
authors.forename: Takao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gomi
authors.forename: Ikuo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Goto
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shiraishi
authors.forename: Hideto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fukushi
authors.forename: Katuya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hirai
authors.forename: Toshihiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nukiwa
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Watanabe
mesh_terms: 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