Increased recognition of Q fever aortitis as a chronic manifestation of Q fever in tropical North Queensland, Australia

We report a series of 5 patients with Q fever aortitis who have presented to our hospital in tropical Australia since 2019. All diagnoses were confirmed with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing of aortic tissue. Only one had a previous diagnosis of acute Q fever, and none had classical high-risk exposures that might increase clinical suspicion for the infection. All patients underwent surgery: one died and 3 had significant complications. Q fever aortitis may be underdiagnosed; clinicians should consider testing forCoxiella burnetii in people with aortic pathology in endemic areas.
Source: European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases - Category: Microbiology Source Type: research