TY - JOUR
TI - Q fever in children in Greece
AU - Maltezou, H.C.
AU - Constantopoulou, I.
AU - Kallergi, C.
AU - Vlahou, V.
AU - Georgakopoulos, D.
AU - Kafetzis, D.A.
AU - Raoult, D.
JO - The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
PY - 2004
VL - 70
TODO - 5
SP - 540-544
PB - American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
SN - 0002-9637, 1476-1645
TODO - 10.4269/ajtmh.2004.70.540
TODO - antibiotic agent;  cefotaxime;  penicillin derivative, adolescent;  antibody titer;  article;  bacterial meningitis;  bacterial pneumonia;  cheese;  child;  child hospitalization;  clinical feature;  Coxiella burnetii;  dietary intake;  female;  fever;  Greece;  headache;  hemolytic uremic syndrome;  hepatitis;  human;  immunofluorescence test;  incidence;  infant;  infection risk;  laboratory test;  major clinical study;  male;  Q fever;  rickettsiosis;  risk factor;  rural area;  tick bite;  treatment outcome;  zoonosis, Acari;  Bacteria (microorganisms);  Coxiella burnetii;  Rickettsiales
TODO - The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence, epidemiology, and clinical manifestations of Q fever among hospitalized children in Greece. During a two-year period, 1,200 children with various clinical manifestations were prospectively tested for Coxiella burnetii infection by indirect immunofluorescence. Acute Q fever was diagnosed in eight (0.67%) patients. No chronic case of infection was detected. Multivariate analysis showed that children 11-14 years old and children reporting consumption of cheese from rural areas were at increased risk for this illness. Clinical manifestations of acute Q fever were pneumonia (two patients), meningitis (two), prolonged fever (two), hepatitis (one), and hemolytic-uremic syndrome (one). Q fever accounted for 2.9% of the cases with prolonged fever, 1.2% of the cases of meningitis, and 0.5% of the cases of pneumonia. Fever and headache were the most common symptoms at presentation. Our study indicates that Q fever is a rare cause of hospitalization during childhood.
ER -