Q FEVER IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AREA: REPORT OF ITS OCCURRENCE IN ALLIED TROOPS

Abstract

The clinical features of a rickettsial disease closely related to Q fever, which occurred among Allied troops in Italy, are described. The most outstanding features were an abrupt onset associated with chilly sensations and malaise, high fever of a duration of 4-15 days, frontal headache, anorexia, x-ray evidence of pulmonary consolidation with minimal physical signs, normal white blood cell count, and comparatively rapid convalescence. The diagnosis was established by isolation of the rickettsiae in guinea pigs and the demonstration of the development of specific antibodies in the blood of convalescents by means of complement-fixation and agglutination tests.