Route of infection and reservoirs of the patients diagnosed as acute Q fever in Japan

本研究分析了53例急性Q热患者和131例血清阳性患者的资料，以评估日本Q热患者的感染途径和宿主动物。除少数输入病例外，大多数Q热患者被认为是国内病例。所有病例均为散发性疾病，不属于暴发。在53名急性Q热患者中，有40人(75%)在发病前有与动物直接接触的病史，这被认为是日本的主要感染途径。大多数疑似水库动物是哺乳动物，如狗、猫和牛，在一些情况下，鸟类被认为是水库。所有禽源性Q热病例均发生肺炎，而哺乳动物源Q热病例均发生发热、肝炎、肺炎。所有病例均存活，无严重并发症发生。另一方面，一些患者在发病前没有任何与动物接触的病史。在这些病例中，我们找不到任何其他感染途径，如摄入生奶或职业接触。

In this study we analyzed the profile of the 53 acut Q fever patients and 131 sero-positive patients to evaluate the route of infection and reservoir animals of Q fever patients in Japan. Except for several inported cases, most of the Q fever patients were considered as domestic cases. And all cases were considered as sporadic disease, not outbreak. History of direct contact with animals before onset of the disease were confirmed 40 of the 53 (75%) acute Q fever patients, and considered as major route of infection in Japan. Most of the suspected reservoir animals were mammals, such as dog, cat, and cattle, and in several cases birds were considered as reservoir. All of the bird-derived Q fever cases suffered pneumonia, while mammal derived Q fever cases suffered FUO, hepatitis, pneumonia. All of the casessurvived without severe complication. On the other hand, several patients had not any history of contact with animals before onset of the disease. In these cases, we could not find any other route of infection, such as ingestion the raw milk, or occupational exposure.