Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
close window
Housecall Archives
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
close window
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Prevention
By Mayo Clinic staffIf you're at specific risk of Q fever, following these recommendations may prevent infection:
- Carefully dispose of animal products. The byproducts of an animal birth (including placenta and fetal membranes) can carry the Q fever bacteria. Properly dispose of all animal waste material to reduce risk.
- Use disinfectants. Use specific cleaners and disinfectants labeled effective against C. burnetii bacteria.
- Wash your hands. Thorough hand washing throughout the day may prevent the spread of C. burnetii and other bacteria.
- Drink only pasteurized milk. Drinking large amounts of unprocessed dairy products may expose you to harmful bacteria.
- Get vaccinated if possible. A tested and highly effective vaccine is available in Australia, though the vaccine is not commercially available in the United States.
- Perform laboratory procedures appropriately. If you're a researcher working with animals, take appropriate precautions and follow guidelines to reduce your risk.
- Quarantine imported animals. Since animal infection rates vary by country, keep imported animals away from the rest of the herd until you can verify that the animal is free of infection.
- Regularly test animals. If you work in an animal environment, regularly test the animals you work with for antibodies to the Coxiella burnetii bacteria, and treat as appropriate.
- Avoid farms and animal environments if you're at risk. If you are pregnant, are immunocompromised or have valve disease, do all you can to avoid barnyard and livestock dust that may be contaminated.
References
- Q fever fact sheet Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/qfever/. Accessed May 1, 2009.
- Hartzell JD, et al. Q fever: Epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 2008;83:574.
- Raoult D. Clinical features, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of Q fever. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed May 1, 2009.
- Raoult D. Q fever endocarditis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed May 1, 2009.
- Maurin M, et al. Q fever. American Society for Microbiology Clinical Microbiology Reviews. 1999;12(4):518.
- Tissot-Dupont H. Q fever. Infectious Disease Clinics of North America. 2008;22:505.
- Marrie TJ, et al. Coxiella burnetii (Q fever). In: Mandell GL et al. Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 6th ed. London: Churchill Livingstone; 2005. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/140205849-3/846136203/1259/1538.html#4-u1.0-B0-443-06643-4..50189-6_6250. Accessed May 1, 2009.
- Raoult D. Q Fever. In: Rakel RE. Conn's Current Therapy. 6th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/140205849-3/846136203/1621/69.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4435-2..50036-4_501. Accessed May 1, 2009.
