Q Fever is a vector-borne disease caused by the bacteria, Coxiella burnetii, and is found in cattle, sheep, goats, cats, and dogs. Humans can get infected by inhaling endospores, ingesting the milk, urine, or feces of an infected animal, or from a tick bite.
Patients with Q Fever generally develop fever, chills, fatigue, and muscle pain. If not treated properly, the infection can become chronic and require long-term antibiotic treatment, including doxycycline and Plaquenil.
It is thought to have been used as a biological weapon at one time. It is highly infectious, with as little as one organism needed to cause clinical infection, making it an attractive organism for use in biowarfare.
