title: An analysis of Q fever patients 6 years after an outbreak in Newport, Wales, UK.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A cohort of 211 factory workers was exposed to a point source of Q fever in 2002. A total of 38 cases and 14 controls took part in a follow-up study 6 years after the outbreak.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To compare Q fever serology, the presence of viable Coxiella burnetii, its DNA and fatigue between patients and controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  Laboratory case study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Q fever serology was by microimmunofluroescence. Viable C. burnetii was detected by VERO cell culture and SCID mice inoculation with patient blood samples. Coxiella burnetii DNA was detected by qPCR (com1 gene) on patients' PBMC and on VERO cultures after 6 weeks incubation. Fatigue was measured by the Chalder Fatigue Scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At 6 years after the outbreak, 7 of the 38 patients had become seronegative and 4 of the 14 of the controls had become seropositive for Q fever. None of the patient/control peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) contained viable C. burnetii by VERO cell culture or by SCID mouse inoculation (death or splenomegaly) and none contained C. burnetii DNA by qPCR.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Six years after acute Q fever, some patients had become seronegative but none contained viable C. burnetii or its DNA in their PBMC.
authors: Australian Rickettsial Reference Laboratory, Newcastle & Geelong, Australia.
authors: H
authors: H
authors: Hussain-Yusuf
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Islam
authors: B
authors: B
authors: Healy
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Lockhart
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Nguyen
authors: O
authors: O
authors: Sukocheva
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Stenos
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Graves
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016997:Coxiella burnetii / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011778:Q Fever / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology*; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D014852:Wales
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D004269:DNA, Bacterial