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Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staffThe signs and symptoms for Q fever vary widely. People with acute Q fever may have no symptoms at all, while chronic Q fever typically affects the heart and other major organs.
Acute Q fever
More than half the people infected with acute Q fever never show symptoms. If you do have symptoms, you'll notice them about two to three weeks after exposure to the bacteria. The infection may mimic the flu, causing these signs and symptoms:
- High fever (104 degrees Fahrenheit, or 40 degrees Celsius)
- Severe headache
- Fatigue
- Sore throat
- Chills
- Sweats
- Cough, which may be dry or productive
- Chest pain
- Abdominal pain
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Purplish rash
- Severe muscle pain
Chronic Q fever
If you have had Q fever for more than six months, it's considered chronic. Chronic Q fever can develop anytime between one and 20 years after you first had acute Q fever, even if you didn't show symptoms initially.
The symptoms of chronic Q fever vary depending on how it manifests itself. Different ways chronic Q fever can affect you include:
- Q fever endocarditis. With endocarditis, the heart's inner lining is inflamed, which can lead to damage of the heart's valves. Signs and symptoms include prolonged fever, night sweats, chills, fatigue and shortness of breath.
- Blood vessel infections. When the bacteria that cause Q fever infect your blood vessels, you may have a fever, fatigue, loss of appetite and weight loss.
- Other types of chronic Q fever. Rarely, chronic Q fever can manifest itself as a bone infection (osteomyelitis), chronic lung infection or chronic fatigue, each with its own set of symptoms.
- 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.
