Q fever was first identified in Montana, the United States, and Queensland, Australia, and reported in the 1930s (1). The first descriptions of Q fever in humans were given in 1937 by Burnett, who surveyed multiple incidences of Australian slaughterhouse laborers who suffered from indistinguishable fever (2, 3). Within 1941 - 1944, during World War II, this disease was registered in German troops posted in the Balkans, southern Italy, Corsica, and British and American allied forces in central Italy and the troops in Crimean and Ukrainian territories. Therefore, there are numerous terminologies for the infection, according to the location and extent of the disease, namely Euboea fever, Olympus fever, influenza, Crimean fever, Cretan pneumonia, Balkan influenza, 7-day fever, or Derrick-Burnett illness (4). The causative agent of the disease, formerly called Rickettsia diaspora, was initially identified in the United States by Cox and finally renamed Coxiella burnetii (5).
Q fever was prevalent everywhere where studies were conducted, except in New Zealand. The leading carriers and accumulators of this disease are domestic animals. However, in the last few years, there has been an increase in the quantity of these species excreting the bacterium, including domestic mammals, marine mammals, reptiles, ticks, and birds (6). The route of transmission is mainly the inhalation of contaminated aerosols. However, the ingestion of infected raw milk can cause seroconversion. Person-to-person transmission can occur through the transfusions of infected blood, sexual contact, and contact with infected products of women giving birth. In humans, the disease is reported among individuals in close contact with infected animals and their products (7).
Q fever diagnosis is based on a set of clinical, epidemiological, and laboratory data (e.g., enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, polymerase chain reaction, and bacteriological analysis), intradermal and biological samples, and chest X-ray. The incidence of Q fever in humans and animals cannot be assessed in most countries and remains unrecognized. Moreover, there is no epidemiologic surveillance for the disease. In addition, the symptoms of Q fever are nonspecific. Therefore, this illness needs further attention as a general public health issue in numerous countries.
In Kazakhstan, Q fever has not been monitored since the 1980s, and there is no epidemiological surveillance. Meanwhile, since 1995, there has been an increase in the number of cases of fevers of unspecified etiology among the residents of the southern region of Kazakhstan, with most cases being diagnosed based on clinical and epidemiological data without laboratory confirmation. In this group, Q fever might be present in a significant proportion as an etiological diagnosis. At the same time, a considerable number of brucellosis cases have been reported in the region. Given that the two infections’ clinical presentations and epidemiological factors are often indistinguishable, Q fever might also be present in this group (8).
Q fever has a wide range of clinical manifestations, is often nonspecific, can last from a few days to more than a year, and is often misdiagnosed, thereby causing inadequate therapy. Furthermore, prolonged illness can lead to severe debilitating disease, and a person might become disabled. In addition, patients might experience more severe conditions in various organ systems. Q fever causes enormous economic damage to society by affecting livestock products and threatens humans’ physical and mental health. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the frequency of occurrence of this infectious disease among populations, based on published materials from August 1973 to July 2022, by reviewing the scientific literature and official systematic reviews.
