The New South Wales Opposition and farmer groups are calling for cheaper access to a vaccine after a worrying number of cases of Q fever in the bush.

The potentially fatal disease is spread from animals to humans, and last year there were 220 reported cases in New South Wales.

Sixty-six of those cases, or about a third, were reported in western New South Wales.

Other hot spots included the Hunter, New England and North Coast regions.

Up to 25 per cent of people diagnosed with Q fever do not fully recover, with many sufferers going on to develop long term chronic fatigue.

The NSW Government this week announced free meningococcal vaccinations for senior high school students, but the NSW Farmers Association said there were more cases of Q fever and it needed to be prioritised.

Issue 'needs to take priority'

NSW Farmers spokesman Chris Groves said the Government needed to fund testing and vaccinations for people at risk.

"We rely on our country health services west of the divide and these country health services do really need some state help to be able to run the appropriate clinics. It's got to be a high priority," Mr Groves said.

"Speaking first hand for someone who had the disease, I'd hate to think of anyone else getting it. It is a tragic thing."

Mr Groves, who farms at Cowra in the state's central-west, said both levels of government needed to tackle the problem before it worsened.

"It would be great if the Q fever vaccine was able to be put on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme," he said.

"So we really need a joint approach between State Government and Federal Government to help people faced with this disease, to be able to protect themselves."

Labor, NSW Farmers united in call for action

Labor's spokesman for primary industries and western NSW MP Mick Veitch, who has also survived a bout of Q fever, said he was concerned about the prevalence of the disease.

"I contracted Q fever back in 1983 in south-west Queensland shearing. It wasn't unusual, it wasn't as bad as some of the others," Mr Veitch said.

"I had some friends who were shearers who contracted Q fever, who were laid low for up to six months in one case. It can be quite a debilitating disease."

While there were worse figures for the disease in the early 1990s and 2000s, Mr Veitch said it had been steadily on the rise again and the Government had been slow to act.

"I think that the State Government should advocate quite solidly with the Federal Government," he said.

"This is an issue for the State Government when it comes to advocacy on behalf of the citizens of New South Wales.

"If you work in those industries, you'd want to know the State Government has got your back."

Industry responsible for control: NSW Health

NSW Health said Q fever was primarily an occupational disease, and awareness and control was the responsibility of employers and workers.

"Nevertheless, public health units in regional areas work with GPs and their communities to promote awareness of the disease and prevention measures," NSW Health said in a statement.

"NSW Health is working with other states and territories to better understand the reasons behind the increased number of cases notified across Australia in the past few years, and to make recommendations regarding any potential national public health response."

Governments should improve access to vaccine, AMA says

But Australian Medical Association NSW branch president Brad Frankum did not agree with the Government stance.

"I think that's the Government trying to shift costs and abrogate responsibility," Professor Frankum said.

"We're all citizens of the nation, and you could argue a similar thing in some cases with Hepatitis B, and yet that one is subsidised by the Government, so I actually don't buy that argument."

Professor Frankum said state and federal governments should work with the industry to improve access to the vaccine.

"We need to reach a position where those three stakeholders can work together to make sure that the vaccination happens," he said.

"The problem is that screening and vaccination is moderately expensive.

"As a society we've decided that we should pay for vaccination for the population through subsidies from government. I don't see why Q fever should be any different."