Q Fever Endocarditis and a New Genotype of Coxiella burnetii, Greece.

Nektarios Kogerakis,George Stavridis,Stavroula Labropoulou,Andreas Mentis,Emmanouil Angelakis,Ioulia Karageorgou,Sophia Hatzianastasiou

doi:10.3201/eid2610.191616

Abstract

Underdiagnosis of Coxiella burnetii infections in Greece is possible because of lack of awareness by physicians, and most suspected cases are in patients with no bovine contact. We found serologic evidence of C. burnetii infection throughout Greece and identified a new C. burnetii genotype in the aortic valve of a patient with Q fever endocarditis.

Highlights

Underdiagnosis of Coxiella burnetii infections in Greece is possible because of lack of awareness by physicians, and most suspected cases are in patients with no bovine contact
Qfever is a worldwide zoonosis caused by an obligate intracellular bacterium, Coxiella burnetii [1,2]
We provided diagnoses of acute Q fever for 1 (0.5%) patient and persistent C. burnetii focalized endocarditis for 2 (1.0%) patients; 12 (6.0%) patients showed evidence of C. burnetii infection

Summary

RESEARCH LETTERS

Author affiliations: Hellenic Pasteur Institute, Athens, Greece Underdiagnosis of Coxiella burnetii infections in Greece is possible because of lack of awareness by physicians, and most suspected cases are in patients with no bovine contact. We found serologic evidence of C. burnetii infection throughout Greece and identified a new C. burnetii genotype in the aortic valve of a patient with Q fever endocarditis. The classification of C. burnetii by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta, GA, USA) as a potential bioterrorism agent resulted in the disease becoming reportable in many countries [3], Q fever is not considered a public health problem in Greece, and few cases have been recorded [3]

Clyde Partin

Findings

Researchers brought samples to Didier Raoult and colleagues at