Guides for Emergency Response Biological Agent or Weapon Q Fever

Probable Form of Dissemination Aerosol sabotage of food supply. 

Signs and Symptoms Fever, cough, and pleuritic chest pain may occur as early as ten days after exposure. Patients are not generally seriously ill, and the illness lasts from two days to two weeks. 

Diagnosis Q fever is not a clinically distinct illness and may resemble a viral illness or other types of atypical pneumonia. The diagnosis is confirmed serologically. As for treatment, Q fever is generally a self-limiting illness even without treatment. Tetracycline or doxycycline are the treatments of choice and are given orally for five to seven days. Q fever endocarditus, which is rare, is much more difficult to treat. 

Differential Diagnosis Q fever usually presents as an undifferentiated febrile illness, or a primary atypical pneumonia, which must be differentiated from pneumonia caused by mycoplasm, Tegionnaires disease, psittacosis or Chlamydia pneumoniae. More rapidly progressive forms of pneumonia may look like bacterial pneumonia including tularemia or plague. 

Personal Protection Protective clothing must be used as well as protection for the respiratory tract by using a mask with biological filters or self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) with positive pressure, at least until you knows the specific threat(s). 

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Guides for Emergency Response Biological Agent or Weapon Q Fever... 

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