Q fever was first described in 1937 after a scientist started carrying out investigations of an illness that occurred among workers working in an abattoir in Brisbane, Australia. This outbreak occurred in the year 1935. The illness was named this unique name because the scientist was not able to figure out its etiology.

Then in the year 1938, two scientists named Burnet and Freeman managed to identify the organism that caused the illness. This organism was Rickettsia, a strain of bacterium. It was believed at that time that these microorganisms were airborne and could enter a human body through either inhalation or ingestion. But later, another 2 scientists managed to identify that the microorganism was transmitted through vectors after they isolated the organism from ticks in the year 1938. The species of Rickettsia was ultimately named Coxiella burnetii.

While Q fever is prevalent in the US, the cases are not reported as most doctors in the US do not report the illness or they do not have the proper diagnostic tools to diagnose the illness. However, the microorganism that causes Q fever is found all over the world in mammals, ticks and birds. But it has been seen that most people who work with farm animals like goats, sheep and cattle are prone to the illness. Also, cats and rabbits are carriers of the Coxiella burnetii.

The disease causing organism has an incubation period of around nine to forty days before the symptoms start showing. Invariably, the microorganism enters the body from the air, eating and drinking goat cheese or raw milk, tick bites and from contaminated blood products. A mother can pass on the disease to her child at the time of birth. The symptoms of the illness are very similar to flu, but they are milder.

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