news, local-news,

Guyra has been identified as a hotspot for Q fever, with as much as 22 per cent of the population showing exposure to the disease. The statistic was revealed on last week’s episode of the ABC program Landlline. Federal Health Minister Sussan Ley has promised to keep a “watching brief” on the incidence of Q fever - an infectious disease passed from animals to humans - as dry conditions provide an ideal environment for the airborne organism to spread. Q fever can be passed on from almost any animal, but is mostly spread by goats, sheep and cattle. The early symptoms resemble the flu and include high temperature, sweating, and body aches and pains. If caught early, it can be treated with antibiotics. But it has become increasingly clear that 20 to 25 per cent of cases do not fully recover, with sufferers going on to develop long-term chronic fatigue. Approximately 2 per cent of people who contract the disease end up with a life-threatening failure of their heart valves, and a small percentage die from the disease. Q fever - the Q standing for Query - is an international disease, identified in almost every country except New Zealand, but Australia is the only place that has an effective vaccine. Classed as a notifiable disease, just under 500 Australian cases are registered each year, almost half of them in Queensland. The Q-vax vaccine was introduced to abattoir workers in the early 1990s and resulted in a halving of the number of Q fever cases nationally. A federally funded vaccination campaign targeting sheep, cattle and dairy farmers was rolled out from 2001-2005, again with a dramatic drop in notifications. With case numbers edging up slightly in the past two years, and a lack of awareness of the disease even in rural areas where it is most prevalent, there have been calls for another subsidised vaccination campaign. But Ms Ley said she would not agree to another vaccination campaign “at this stage”.

Hot spot for Q fever