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Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Generation and Multi-phenotypic High-content Screening of Coxiella burnetii Transposon Mutants
Published on: May 13, 2015
Systemic immune presentations of Coxiella burnetii infection (Q Fever)
Maeva Lefebvre1, Olivier Grossi, Christian Agard
1Department of Infectious Diseases, University Hospital, Nantes, France.
Objectives:
Q fever is a worldwide zoonosis caused by Coxiella burnetii. Its presentation can be atypical, delaying and complicating the diagnosis. We report 7 cases of Q fever mimicking vasculitis, systemic inflammatory disease, or auto-immune disorder.
Methods:
Seven cases of Q fever diagnosed between 1995 and 2007 in Nantes University Hospital (France) are described. They occurred in a nonendemic region and were selected on the basis of initial clinical presentation suggesting systemic immune disease. C. burnetii was detected using indirect immunofluorescence serology.
Results:
Q fever was acute in 4 of the 7 patients and chronic in 3. None had endocarditis. The initial presentations suggested Crohn's disease, Goodpasture's syndrome, polymyalgia rheumatica, adult-onset Still's disease, polyarteritis nodosa, giant-cell arteritis, and essential type II cryoglobulinemia. Two patients had antiphospholipid antibodies, 1 had transient IgG kappa monoclonal gammopathy, and 1 had polyclonal T CD8+ large granular lymphocyte expansion.
Conclusion:
Clinicians must be aware of the potential diagnosis of Q fever, and C. burnetii serology is a helpful diagnostic tool in the investigation of fever of unknown origin with atypical systemic symptoms suggesting vasculitis or inflammatory disease.
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