Targeted Screening for Chronic Q Fever, the Netherlands

Early detection of and treatment for chronic Q fever might prevent potentially life-threatening complications. We performed a chronic Q fever screening program in general practitioner practices in the Netherlands 10 years after a large Q fever outbreak. Thirteen general practitioner practices located in outbreak areas selected 3,419 patients who had specific underlying medical conditions, of whom 1,642 (48%) participated. Immunofluorescence assay of serum showed that 289 (18%) of 1,642 participants had a previous Coxiella burnetii infection (IgG II titer >1:64), and 9 patients were suspecte... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Daphne F.M. Reukers
Pieter T. de Boer
Alfons O. Loohuis
Peter C. Wever
Chantal P. Bleeker-Rovers
Arianne B. van Gageldonk-Lafeber
Wim van der Hoek
Aura Timen
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2022
Reihe/Periodikum: Emerging Infectious Diseases, Vol 28, Iss 7, Pp 1403-1409 (2022)
Verlag/Hrsg.: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Schlagwörter: Q fever / targeted screening / chronic Q fever / Coxiella burnetii / bacteria / screening program / Medicine / R / Infectious and parasitic diseases / RC109-216
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-29170574
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2807.212273

Early detection of and treatment for chronic Q fever might prevent potentially life-threatening complications. We performed a chronic Q fever screening program in general practitioner practices in the Netherlands 10 years after a large Q fever outbreak. Thirteen general practitioner practices located in outbreak areas selected 3,419 patients who had specific underlying medical conditions, of whom 1,642 (48%) participated. Immunofluorescence assay of serum showed that 289 (18%) of 1,642 participants had a previous Coxiella burnetii infection (IgG II titer >1:64), and 9 patients were suspected of having chronic Q fever (IgG I y titer >1:512). After medical evaluation, 4 of those patients received a chronic Q fever diagnosis. The cost of screening was higher than estimated earlier, but the program was still cost-effective in certain high risk groups. Years after a large Q fever outbreak, targeted screening still detected patients with chronic Q fever and is estimated to be cost-effective.