Q fever serology in febrile patients in southeast Iran.

There is little information on human Q fever in Iran and other Middle East countries. The aim of this study was to determine apparent Q fever seropositivity among febrile patients with suspected brucellosis in southeast Iran. Coxiella burnetii phases I and II specific IgG antibodies were measured by a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in sera from 75 febrile patients. Phase I antibodies were detected in 18 subjects (24%) and phase II antibodies in 27 subjects (36%). This is the first report of human Q fever seropositivity in Iran after 3 decades and demonstrated a high prevalence of C. burnetii exposure in the sampled febrile patients.