The effect of C. burnetii infection on the quality of life of patients following an outbreak of Q fever.

Sixty-six cases of Q fever were diagnosed in people affiliated with a goat-farming co-operative in rural Newfoundland in the spring of 1999. Follow-up studies which included administration of the Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) were conducted 3 and 27 months after the initial outbreak to prospec...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hatchette, T. F., Hayes, M., Merry, H., Schlech, W. F., Marrie, T. J.
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2003
Subjects:
Research Article
Newfoundland
Online Access:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2869986
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12825734
Description
Summary:Sixty-six cases of Q fever were diagnosed in people affiliated with a goat-farming co-operative in rural Newfoundland in the spring of 1999. Follow-up studies which included administration of the Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) were conducted 3 and 27 months after the initial outbreak to prospectively follow the effects of acute Q fever on the quality of life of the participants. Twenty-seven months after the outbreak 51% of those who had Q fever reported persistent symptoms including seven participants whose symptoms had initially resolved 3 months after the outbreak. Individuals with Q fever had significantly lower scores on five of the eight scales in the SF-36 and lower scores in the mental and physical summary scales compared to uninfected controls. Although this supports the hypothesis of a 'post Q fever fatigue syndrome' (QFFS), further study is warranted.

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