Saturday, February, 11, 2012

Q fever

Table of Contents

Alternative Names

Query fever


Treatment

The main treatment for Q fever is with antibiotics. For early-stage (acute) Q fever, doxycycline is the recommended antibiotic.

For chronic Q fever, a combination of doxycycline and hydroxychloroquine is often used. You may need to take antibiotics for several months.


Support Groups


Expectations (prognosis)

The outlook for people who get treated in the early stages of Q fever is generally good.

Chronic Q fever requires long-term treatment with antibiotics. Your health care provider should check you often to make sure the disease has not returned.


Complications
  • Cirrhosis, hepatitis, and other liver problems
  • Encephalitis
  • Infection of the heart valves (endocarditis)
  • Inflammation of the heart lining (pericarditis)
  • Inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis)
  • Lung scarring (interstitial pulmonary fibrosis)
  • Meningitis
  • Pneumonia

Calling your health care provider

Notify your medical provider if you have symptoms of Q fever, especially if you believe you have been exposed to the bacteria. Although many different illnesses can cause similar symptoms, you may need to be evaluated for Q fever.



Review Date: 09/23/2010
Reviewed By: David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc., and Jatin M. Vyas, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Assistant in Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)