The use of a geographic information system to identify a dairy goat farm as the most likely source of an urban Q-fever outbreak
نویسندگان
چکیده
BACKGROUND A Q-fever outbreak occurred in an urban area in the south of the Netherlands in May 2008. The distribution and timing of cases suggested a common source. We studied the spatial relationship between the residence locations of human cases and nearby small ruminant farms, of which one dairy goat farm had experienced abortions due to Q-fever since mid April 2008. A generic geographic information system (GIS) was used to develop a method for source detection in the still evolving major epidemic of Q-fever in the Netherlands. METHODS All notified Q-fever cases in the area were interviewed. Postal codes of cases and of small ruminant farms (size >40 animals) located within 5 kilometres of the cluster area were geo-referenced as point locations in a GIS-model. For each farm, attack rates and relative risks were calculated for 5 concentric zones adding 1 kilometre at a time, using the 5-10 kilometres zone as reference. These data were linked to the results of veterinary investigations. RESULTS Persons living within 2 kilometres of an affected dairy goat farm (>400 animals) had a much higher risk for Q-fever than those living more than 5 kilometres away (Relative risk 31.1 [95% CI 16.4-59.1]). CONCLUSIONS The study supported the hypothesis that a single dairy goat farm was the source of the human outbreak. GIS-based attack rate analysis is a promising tool for source detection in outbreaks of human Q-fever.
منابع مشابه
Integrating interdisciplinary methodologies for One Health: goat farm re-implicated as the probable source of an urban Q fever outbreak, the Netherlands, 2009
BACKGROUND In spring 2008, a goat farm experiencing Q fever abortions ("Farm A") was identified as the probable source of a human Q fever outbreak in a Dutch town. In 2009, a larger outbreak with 347 cases occurred in the town, despite no clinical Q fever being reported from any local farm. METHODS Our study aimed to identify the source of the 2009 outbreak by applying a combination of interd...
متن کاملQ fever: single-point source outbreak with high attack rates and massive numbers of undetected infections across an entire region.
BACKGROUND In early 2009, a dairy-goat annex care farm in South Limburg, the Netherlands, reported 220 Coxiella burnetii-related abortions in 450 pregnant goats. These preceded human cases and occurred in a region that was Q-fever free before 2009, providing a unique quasi-experimental setting for investigating regional transmission patterns associated with a Q-fever point source. METHODS Ind...
متن کاملA Model for the Early Identification of Sources of Airborne Pathogens in an Outdoor Environment
BACKGROUND Source identification in areas with outbreaks of airborne pathogens is often time-consuming and expensive. We developed a model to identify the most likely location of sources of airborne pathogens. METHODS As a case study, we retrospectively analyzed three Q fever outbreaks in the Netherlands in 2009, each with suspected exposure from a single large dairy goat farm. Model input co...
متن کاملOne Health approach to controlling a Q fever outbreak on an Australian goat farm.
A recent outbreak of Q fever was linked to an intensive goat and sheep dairy farm in Victoria, Australia, 2012-2014. Seventeen employees and one family member were confirmed with Q fever over a 28-month period, including two culture-positive cases. The outbreak investigation and management involved a One Health approach with representation from human, animal, environmental and public health. Se...
متن کامل1 Q Fever , Austria 2009
In Austria, C. burnetii infections in humans and in animals are not notifiable diseases. We performed a survey to assess the prevalence of human Q fever in Austria in 2009. In January 2010, a questionnaire was sent to nine laboratories in nine Austrian provinces, requesting anonymized data on Q fever tests performed in 2009. In parallel, all Austrian Departments of Infectious Disease were asked...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
عنوان ژورنال:
دوره 10 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2010