Q fever II. Natural history and epidemiology of q fever in man

Abstract

Rickettsia burneti is known to occur naturally in at least 17 species of ticks and also in many small wild animals. While many domestic animals also serve as natural reservoirs, it is suggested that they originally acquired their infections from ticks, but at the present the normal transmission within groups of such animals is probably air borne from droppings at the time of parturition or through the milk of the mother. Man is most probably infected through the inhalation of contaminated droplets or dust from parturient animals or through drinking contaminated milk. The disease may almost be labeled occupational since it appears most frequently in those associated directly or indirectly with animals or their raw products (contaminated fomites).