Q fever – a rare and exotic-sounding disease that sits on bioterror watch lists alongside deadlier agents such as smallpox and anthrax – has cropped up in unusual number of cases this summer in Colorado, state and county health departments report.
The source, however, is probably diseased livestock such as sheep or goats, rather than terrorists, health officials said.
The state health department has confirmed 13 human cases in the state this year, six of them in Weld County.
In 2004, there were three confirmed cases throughout Colorado, said John Pape, a state health department epidemiologist.
Weld County health officials investigated six more possible cases but have not yet confirmed them, said Jill Burch, a county public health nurse.
No one in Colorado has died from Q fever, which is treatable with antibiotics and is rarely fatal. At least one person did have to be hospitalized.
“Most people, even untreated, get better in two to three weeks,” said Dr. Daniel Mogyoros, an infectious disease specialist with Kaiser Permanente.
In a few cases, however, Q fever can produce serious complications, including pneumonia or inflammation of the liver, Mogyoros said.
If the infection becomes chronic, it can cause repeated miscarriages or a heart condition that can lead to congestive heart failure, he said. Symptoms include a high fever and headache and may include profuse sweating and hallucinations.
Mogyoros treated one of the Q fever cases, at Kaiser Permanente’s clinic in Lafayette.
“He came in with fevers and fatigue,” Mogyoros said.
The patient, who worked on a ranch with livestock, came to the clinic after a week with the fever.
Q fever is one of several diseases doctors test for when a patient has a persistent, unexplained fever, Mogyoros said.
Q fever, or “query” fever, is caused by a bacterium called Coxiella burnetii, which builds up in placental tissues, putting veterinarians and farmers at high risk.
“It can get into the soil and bedding, and when dust gets kicked up, it can be inhaled,” Weld County’s Burch said.
Health officials aren’t sure why Q fever popped up this summer.
Although Q fever regularly turns up on lists of potential bioterror agents, it may not appeal to terrorists because it rarely kills.
The Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo reportedly got specimens of the microbe and experimented with it, before choosing to release deadly sarin gas in Tokyo in 1995, killing 12 people, according to a PBS investigation.
In any case, Mogyoros is likely to be one of the few doctors experienced in treating Q fever.
“Most doctors go through their training and most of their career without ever seeing this disease,” he said.
Staff writer Karen Augé can be reached at 303-820-1733 or kauge@denverpost.com.
