Acute Q fever in febrile patients in northwestern of Iran

Background: q fever is an endemic disease in different parts of iran. this study aimed to investigate the prevalence of acute q fever disease among at-risk individuals in northwestern iran. methodology: an etiological study was carried out in 2013 in tabriz county. a total of 116 individuals who were in contact with livestock and had a nonspecific febrile illness were enrolled in the study. igg phase ii antibodies against coxiella burnetii were detected using elisa. principal findings: the prevalence of acute q fever was 13.8% (95% confidence interval [ci]: 8.0,21.0%). headache (87.5%) and fatigue and weakness (81.3%) were the dominant clinical characteristics among patients whit acute q fever. acute lower respiratory tract infection and chills were poorly associated with acute q fever. furthermore,32% (95% ci: 24,41%) of participants had a history of previous exposure to q fever agent (past infection). consumption of unpasteurized dairy products was a weak risk factor for previous exposure to c. burnetii. conclusion: this study identified patients with acute q fever in northwestern of iran. the evidence from this study and previous studies conducted in different regions of iran support this fact that q fever is one of the important endemic zoonotic diseases in iran and needs due attention by clinical physicians and health care system. © 2017 esmaeili et al.