Laborotary of Clinical Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis, Parasitology, Zoonoses and Geographical Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, 71100, Greece.
Laborotary of Clinical Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis, Parasitology, Zoonoses and Geographical Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, 71100, Greece.
Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis. 2020 Apr;69:101340. doi: 10.1016/j.cimid.2019.101340. Epub 2020 Jan 25.
Q fever is an endemic disease in different parts of Greece. The current study aimed to investigate the prevalence of acute Q fever disease in Greece through the operation of the national reference centre for Q fever. A total of 5397 sera were received from febrile patients under the suspicion of Q fever infection during a 13 years period (2001-20013). A questionnaire was filled in by the clinicians containing certain clinical/epidemiological/demographic information. The diagnosis was based both on IFA (IgG and IgM phase II antibodies against Coxiella burnetii) and on molecular means. A total of 685 (12.7 %) samples were initially tested positive for acute Q fever. The mean (±SD) age of patients was 55.3 years (±18.7). Out of the 489 convalescent samples, 134 (27.4 %) samples indicated a minimum of a four-fold seroconversion and were considered as laboratory confirmed cases of acute Q fever. Pneumonia was the most frequently encountered clinical symptom with presence in 6.8 % of all positive samples. Forty six (46) patients were laboratory confirmed as chronic Q fever cases. Climate seemed to influence the distribution of Q fever cases throughout the years. The findings of the current study comply with past studies carried out elsewhere that had demonstrated a clear relation of the disease with temperature, south winds, etc. This study represents the first large scale attempt to gather a long period information on Q fever infection in Greece. The findings of the current study support the fact that Q fever is an important endemic zoonotic disease in Greece and needs increased awareness by clinical physicians and health care system.
Q 热是希腊不同地区的地方性疾病。本研究旨在通过国家 Q 热参考中心的运作，调查希腊急性 Q 热疾病的流行情况。在 13 年期间（2001-2013 年），共收到 5397 份来自疑似 Q 热感染发热患者的血清。临床医生填写了一份问卷，其中包含某些临床/流行病学/人口统计学信息。诊断基于IFA（针对贝氏柯克斯体的 IgG 和 IgM 二期抗体）和分子手段。共有 685 份（12.7%）样本最初检测为急性 Q 热阳性。患者的平均（±SD）年龄为 55.3 岁（±18.7 岁）。在 489 份恢复期样本中，有 134 份（27.4%）样本至少有四倍的血清转化，被认为是急性 Q 热的实验室确诊病例。肺炎是最常见的临床症状，阳性样本中占 6.8%。46 例患者被实验室确诊为慢性 Q 热病例。气候似乎影响了 Q 热病例在各年的分布。本研究的结果与其他地方进行的过去研究一致，这些研究表明该疾病与温度、南风等有明确关系。本研究代表了首次尝试在希腊收集长时间 Q 热感染信息的大规模尝试。本研究的结果支持 Q 热是希腊一种重要的地方性人畜共患病的事实，需要临床医生和医疗保健系统提高认识。
