Charles Sturt University PhD student Tabita Tan has put the call out to people who have had Q fever, asking them to participate in a survey to learn more about the impacts of the illness and patient experience in achieving a diagnosis.
This survey is part of her research through the Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation and is is part of a wider, multidisciplinary project — ‘Taking the “Query” out of Q Fever’ — aimed at improving understanding of Q fever and to help develop policies that will limit the likelihood of a large and prolonged outbreak in Australia.
Dr Tan said the aim of this questionnaire was to investigate the impacts Q fever had on patients and families in Australia and their experiences in achieving a diagnosis for their illness.
Q fever is an infectious disease that transmits from animals to humans and is caused by the bacteria Coxiella burnetii.
While many people do not become sick or experience only mild illness, for others it can result in a prolonged and debilitating illness.
“We want to include as wide a range of experiences as possible, including people who have been infected without symptoms, those who have had severe illness and parents or guardians who have cared for a child with Q fever,” Dr Tan said.
“It doesn’t matter how long ago you experienced Q fever, if you were in Australia, we are keen to hear from you.”
Dr Tan said these patient perspectives on the medical investigation will help explore the likelihood of timely disease detection.
“Information from the survey will inform our research to develop an emergency response plan to be used if a large Q fever outbreak in humans was identified,” she said.
The three-year project is supported by funding from the Federal Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment as part of its Rural R&D for Profit program and university and industry partners.
Project funding is administered by AgriFutures Australia and the national project team includes animal health and infectious disease experts from the University of Melbourne, University of Adelaide, the University of Queensland, the Australian Rickettsial Reference Laboratory, Goat Vet Oz and Meredith Dairy.
The survey is available at: www.research.net/r/Qfever