Q FEVER IN CHILDREN IN GREECE

Abstract. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence, epidemiology, and clinical manifestations of Q fever among hospitalized children in Greece. During a two-year period, 1,200 children with various clinical manifestations were prospectively tested for Coxiella burnetii infection by indirect immunofluorescence. Acute Q fever was diagnosed in eight (0.67%) patients. No chronic case of infection was detected. Multivariate analysis showed that children 11−14 years old and children reporting consumption of cheese from rural areas were at increased risk for this illness. Clinical manifestations of acute Q fever were pneumonia (two patients), meningitis (two), prolonged fever (two), hepatitis (one), and hemolytic-uremic syndrome (one). Q fever accounted for 2.9 % of the cases with prolonged fever, 1.2 % of the cases of meningitis, and 0.5 % of the cases of pneumonia. Fever and headache were the most common symptoms at presen-tation. Our study indicates that Q fever is a rare cause of hospitalization during childhood