[Outbreak of Q fever in a municipal abattoir]

The present paper reports on a Q fever outbreak of 149 cases in a municipal slaughter house focus. The diagnosis was established by clinical, epidemiological, radiologic and laboratory investigations. The route of transmission was air-borne from the sick animals (not detected at the veterinary control) to man. A closer cooperation is recommended between the human and veterinary health services, for early detection of the cases, their prevention and control. The authors suggest the need to immunize the personnel exposed to the risk of contamination (zoo technical units, slaughter house personnel, etc.).