What is Q FEVER

Last week's kangaroo attack at Jervis Bay, which left two people with lacerations has prompted a Sussex Inlet resident to warn people about a deadly infectious disease which can be caught from the native animal. The roo attacked a group of people attending soccer training at Wreck Bay, knocking a boy to the ground and kicking a pregnant woman.

Sue Jones says kangaroos are a major problem at Sussex Inlet and are believed to be linked to several cases of Query or QFever over the last couple of years. Humans can be infected with the QFever germ following exposure to infected domestic and wild animals or products and the germ can also survive in dust. It causes severe flu like symptoms and if not treated quickly, in extreme cases  can result in death.

Mrs Jones says a close friend of hers recently died from QFever which he is believed to have contracted after inhaling the dust from kangaroo faeces while mowing the lawn.

So what is Q Fever?

Q fever is a disease caused by infection with Coxiella burnetii,a bacterium that affects humans and other animals. This organism is uncommon, but may be found in cattle, sheep, goats and other domestic mammals, including cats and dogs. The infection results from inhalation of a spore-like small cell variant, and from contact with the milk, urine, feces, vaginal mucus, or semen of infected animals. Rarely, the disease is tick borne. The incubation period is 9–40 days. A human being can be infected by a single bacterium. The bacterium is an obligate intracellular pathogen.