Q fever is an illness that is brought on by a microorganism known as Coxiella burnetii. This is a strain of bacterium that can infect humans and mammals like cattle, dogs, cats, goats and sheep. Usually the bacterium is airborne and can be contracted by breathing it, or you can get the illness by coming in contact with contaminated animal products like raw milk, urine, feces, mucus from the vagina or semen.

Usually on entering the body, the virus will have an incubation period of around nine days to forty days. The illness is highly infectious as just a single bacterium is sufficient to causes. Often the symptoms of the disease are mistaken for flu as they are very similar. It causes fever, exhaustion, pain in the muscles, pain in the joints, infection of the upper respiratory tract, chills, nausea, dry cough, vomiting, diarrhea, and pain while breathing. Invariably the fever will stay for around seven days to fourteen days.

Q fever is treated by means of antibiotics like doxycycline, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin and hydroxychloroquine. If the disease has turned chronic, the treatment process can last for up to 4 years. Chronic Q fever is fatal if not treated.

When it comes to Q fever and pregnancy, the disease is quite difficult to treat. This is primarily because antibiotics like ciprofloxacin and doxycycline are inadvisable during pregnancy due to the effect they could have on the fetus. Therefore, Q fever during pregnancy is treated by means of co-trimoxazole. Treating Q fever during pregnancy is imperative as this disease can lead to miscarriage, preterm babies and even still births. The use of antibiotics to treat the disease during pregnancy can help in reducing the rate of miscarriages.

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