Q fever historical perspective

Overview
Q fever is caused by infection with Coxiella burnetii. This organism is uncommon but may be found in cattle, sheep, goats and other domestic mammals, including cats and dogs.

History
It was first described by Edward Holbrook Derrick in abattoir workers in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The "Q" stands for “query” and was applied historically at a time when the causative agent was unknown.

In 1937 the bacterium was isolated by Frank Macfarlane Burnet and Mavis Freeman from one of Derrick’s patients for the first time and identified as Rickettsia-species. H.R. Cox and Davis isolated the pathogen from ticks in Montana, USA in 1938, called it Rickettsia diasporica, it was considered nonpathogenic until laboratory investigators were infected; it was officially named Coxiella burnetii the same year. It is a zoonotic disease and most common animal reservoirs are cattle, sheep and goats. Coxiella burnetii is no longer regarded as closely related to Rickettsiae.