title: National surveillance and the epidemiology of human Q fever in the United States, 1978-2004.
abstract: Although Q fever is considered enzootic in the United States, surveillance for human Q fever has been historically limited. From 1978 through 1999, 436 cases (average = 20 per year) of human Q fever were reported. After Q fever became nationally reportable in 1999, 255 human Q fever cases (average = 51 per year) were reported with illness onset during 2000 through 2004. The median age of cases was 51 years, and most cases were male (77%). The average annual incidence of Q fever was 0.28 cases per million persons, and was highest in persons 50-59 years of age (0.39 cases per million). State-specific incidence ranged from a high of 2.40 cases per million persons in Wyoming, to 0 cases in some states. Since Q fever became reportable, case reports have increased by more than 250%. Surveillance for Q fever is essential to establish the distribution and magnitude of disease and to complement U.S. bioterrorism preparedness activities.
authors.affiliation: Viral and Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch and Office of the Director, Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA. fzh7@cdc.gov
authors.forename: Jennifer H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: McQuiston
authors.forename: Robert C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Holman
authors.forename: Candace L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: McCall
authors.forename: James E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Childs
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Swerdlow
authors.forename: Herbert A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Thompson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016997:Coxiella burnetii / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018563:Disease Notification; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011778:Q Fever / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012621:Seasons; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology