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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffTreatment for Q fever depends on whether the infection is acute or chronic and whether you're pregnant.
Acute Q fever treatment
Mild or nonsymptomatic cases of acute Q fever often get better in about two weeks with no treatment. However, even if you have no symptoms your doctor may want to provide treatment in order to prevent future complications.
The standard treatment for acute Q fever is doxycycline, an antibiotic. The severity of your infection will determine the length of time you need to take the antibiotic, but the usual medication course is two to three weeks. It's important to get treatment as soon as you notice symptoms, because the antibiotics are the most effective when they're initiated within one week of symptoms' onset.
Sometimes, acute Q fever can come back. Your doctor may ask you to return in six months for serologic testing. If Q fever bacteria antibodies are found again, you'll likely need another round of antibiotics.
Chronic Q fever treatment
Chronic Q fever is treated with a combination of antibiotics taken for at least 18 months. In more-advanced cases, you may need to take the antibiotics for as long as four years.
If you have Q fever endocarditis, you may need surgery to remove or graft damaged heart valves or repair an aneurysm. Although treatments are available, complications can quickly multiply, and they may prove fatal. Even after successful chronic Q fever treatment, you'll need to go back for follow-up tests for years in case the infection returns.
Treatment of Q fever during pregnancy
Treating Q fever during pregnancy can be a challenge, because the usual antibiotics prescribed for Q fever are not recommended during pregnancy. Some women elect to wait until after delivery to treat Q fever, but that decision has risks as well. Pregnancy is a risk factor for developing chronic Q fever, and acute Q fever can cause multiple complications for the baby as well. If you're pregnant and have Q fever, be sure you understand all of your treatment options and their risks.
- 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.
