Hi
After fighting the semptoms for at lest 3yr and fighting a fever of 100 to 104 for 2 1/2 monthes I was finely diagnosed with Chronic Q Fever. I am wondering if eneyone here could shed a light on this subject.
Q-fever is a small bacterium which belongs to the Rickettsia family which is known as Coxiella burnetti. It is considered a "zoonosis" in that it is an infection which humans contract from animals. It's been reported to affect cats, goats, sheep and even cows. It has an attraction to placenta tissue which is why it tends to be seen in humans who work around birthing animals (i.e. farmers, veterinarians etc). The q-fever bacterium is highly infectious and it can persist in the environment from the animal it came from (in stool and birth products) for weeks to months after it's left there. Humans generally contract disease when they inhale these infectious particles. The vast majority of Q-fever in humans presents as a "flu like syndrome" which is indistinguishable from a "common cold". People don't even know they had it. However, it can infect almost any part of the body including: lungs (pneumonia), heart (endocarditis), bone (osteomyelitis), liver (hepatitis/peliosis) and even sometimes the central nervous system. There are also people (the group which you may be a part of) who simply as a fever of unknown origin for weeks and weeks and then someone thinks to do Q-fever serology and finds that the Phase I reactant (indicative of chronic q-fever) is strongly positive. Unfortunately, treatment for the bacteria takes a LOOOOONG course of antibiotics (sometimes up to two years) usually with doxycycline and hydroxychloroquine. Rifampin is added sometimes as well.
How did you present to medical attention with your Q-fever?
Hi Harka
how I presented
three years ago I would get the flue like semptomes ones or twise a month it would last 24-48 hours and would end with a fever of 102-104 (Med History when I was young I had rumatic fever and was on one form or another of penacilon ontil I was 18 at 21 I had the flue and ran a fever of 103 for a week and the Doc. put me on penacilon for a month and told me to go on penacilon every spring and fall to fight strep and posible flue and to take penacilon 30 days before and after eney sergery or dental work and I have but would have the semptomes every few years)
Three years ago after going through the fevers for about 4 months I ended up with ringing in my ears, blured vision, black outs, and what felt like a sever sines infection after numerus catscans, mri, arteriogram, ecocardiografs, and blood test that would floot a battle ship and going through 12 docters until they would give up and send me to another, It subsided on its own. In March of this year it started again but the fever would not break the doc put me on doxycycline for a month after that month was up he sent me to a new Infectious disease Doc He did blood tests for a month and finily sent blood of to the cdc The IFA, IgG, IgA,and IgM tests comfermed Chronic Q fever at present I have a PCR test penting to see which Coxiella Barnetii strain it is. I am curently on doxycycline hyclate 100 twice daily and hydroxychlor 200 three times a day the fevers are now once or twice a day lasting 2 to three hours but still ranging from 100.2 - 105 my arthrites is all but gone the ringing in my ears has subsided the left chick bone has quit herting but sence runing a fever for so long my digestive system is shot. after being diagnosed I have found 2 persons with (query) Q fever and 1 doc that was treted them long term 1. has had it for 54yrs and 1. for 6yrs. they are both Chronic Q fever carriors As their Doc told me if your body can't kill it its cronic if the drugs can't kill it your a carrior. time will tell I go back to my Doc sep 7 with alot of questions I hope this ansered your question. forgive my spelling.
