Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Q fever outbreak in industrial setting.

Hugo C van Woerden1, Brendan W Mason, Lika K Nehaul

  • 1National Public Health Service for Wales, Cardiff, United Kingdom. vanwoerdenh1@cf.ac.uk

Emerging Infectious Diseases
|August 25, 2004
PubMed
Summary

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Monte Carlo modeling of the field size dependency for thin window plane-parallel chambers in kilovoltage X-ray reference dosimetry.

Medical physics·2026
Same author

Lessons learned from two multicentre randomised controlled trials undertaken in pharmacies in community settings: a retrospective project management analysis.

Trials·2025
Same author

Kidney transplantation from hepatitis C antibody-positive donors into hepatitis C-negative recipients: initial single-centre experience in the UK.

The British journal of surgery·2025
Same author

Do Jointly Appointed Nursing and Midwifery Clinical Academics Provide Benefits to Patients, Individual Joint Appointees, Academic Institutions and Health and Social Care Organisations? A Scoping Literature Review.

Nursing open·2025
Same author

AI integrations with lung cancer screening: Considerations in developing AI in a public health setting.

European journal of cancer (Oxford, England : 1990)·2025
Same author

Where Are the Knowledge Gaps in Menopause Across a Population? A National Cross-Sectional Survey in Wales.

International journal of environmental research and public health·2025

An outbreak of Q fever occurred in South Wales, linked to a cardboard factory. Drilling into contaminated straw board likely aerosolized Coxiella burnetii, causing infection, especially in office workers.

Area of Science:

  • Epidemiology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Occupational Health

Background:

  • Q fever is a zoonotic disease caused by Coxiella burnetii.
  • Outbreaks can occur in occupational settings with potential environmental contamination.
  • Previous Q fever outbreaks have been linked to livestock and parturient animals.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the source and transmission routes of a Q fever outbreak.
  • To identify risk factors associated with Q fever infection in an occupational cohort.
  • To determine the specific exposure event leading to the outbreak.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort and nested case-control study was conducted among employees and subcontractors at a cardboard manufacturing plant.
  • Data collection included blood sampling for serological testing and questionnaires.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Epidemiological analysis, including epidemic curve and odds ratio calculation, was performed.

    • Main Results:

    • Ninety-five cases of acute Q fever were identified among 282 individuals.
    • The likely exposure period was August 5-9, 2002.
    • Employees in factory offices had a significantly higher risk (OR 3.46) of infection, coinciding with renovation work involving drilling into straw board.

    Conclusions:

    • The Q fever outbreak was likely caused by aerosolization of Coxiella burnetii from contaminated straw board during renovation activities.
    • Occupational exposure in office environments during renovation poses a risk for Q fever transmission.
    • Preventive measures should address potential aerosolization of pathogens in similar occupational settings.