Q Fever - Netherlands, Update

History of Q Fever as a Biological Weapons Agent

As a biological weapons agent, Q Fever is a highly infectious incapacitating agent. Q Fever would most likely be spread in an aerosolized cloud. Disinfection could be achieved with 0.05% hypochlorite solution (1 tbps. bleach per gallon of water). Q Fever was developed as a biological agent by both US and Soviet biological arsenals. Dr. Ken Alibek, once deputy chief of Biopreparat, developed the possible connection between an outbreak of typhus among German troops in the Crimea in 1943 and the Soviet biological weapons project.

The United States conducted human trials with Q Fever in the first study of Operation Whitecoat known as CD-22. Whitecoat was the name given to men who volunteered for the operation. The roughly 2,300 Whitecoats were Seventh-day Adventists who wished to serve the US military without having to carry arms, an act prohibited by their faith. The operation began at Camp Detrick, Maryland, in January 1955 as administrators used the 'Eight Ball,' a million liter aerosol dispersion chamber. In July 1955, at the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, volunteers along with guinea pigs and monkeys stood in the desert night as Q Fever was released from generator sprays 3,000 feet away. The experiment succeeded as the volunteers came down with Q Fever. Volunteers who developed symptoms were treated with antibiotics
. All recovered. Operation Whitecoat continued for almost two decades.

Q Fever was discovered along with anthrax, botulism, mustard gas, and sarin gas as a weapon in the biochemical weapons arsenal developed by the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo in 1995. As a biological agent, militaries favor Coxiella burnetii due to its incapacitating rather than lethal affect on human populations.

In July 2007, The CDC placed restrictions on Texas A&M’s search on Coxiella burnetii after the Sunshine Project, a biosafety group in Austin, Texas, uncovered through the Freedom of Information Act that in 2006, three researchers were accidentally infected with Q Fever and the incident was not reported to the CDC as law required.

Read more about Q Fever here; http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/intro/bio_qfever.htm

Q FEVER - NETHERLANDS (29): UPDATE
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Date: Thu 15 Jul 2010
Source: RNW (Radio Netherlands Worldwide) via Expatica.com [edited]



Q fever restrictions in the Netherlands lifted
----------------------------------------------
The Dutch Agriculture Ministry has lifted restrictions on breeding
and transporting milk goats and milk sheep, which had been in force
since the outbreak of Q fever earlier this year [2010].

The disease is spread by bacteria that use pregnant goats and sheep
as hosts; it affects humans and can be lethal for weakened patients.
Since Jan 2010, 420 people have been infected with Q fever, and 5
people who were already suffering from other afflictions died.

The lifting of restrictions enables goat farmers to repopulate their
stables. In an attempt to minimise the spread of Q fever, 89 goat and
sheep farms were cleared of all livestock. This has led to a shortage
of some 35 000 goats, according to farmers' umbrella organisation
LTO. Many farmers have been financially crippled by the loss of
income, and LTO warns that many of them may not be able to restart
their businesses.

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail


[The 91st farm to be found Q-fever infected in the Netherlands is a
dairy goat farm in Oirschot, North Brabant, about 12 km (7.5 miles)
north-west of Eindhoven (map at
). Infection, detected by the PCR
testing of milk, has occurred in spite of vaccination, which had been
duly and timely carried on. Vaccination does not rule out infection
altogether, but is expected to significantly reduce bacteria
proliferation and spread by infected animals, and will prevent abortions.

The case was announced by the Ministry of Agriculture on 13 Jul 2010.
The vaccinated flock will not be culled nor will a breeding ban
implemented. To be on the safe side, prescribed biosecurity measures
have been applied.

The new infected location has been added to the Dutch Q-fever map,
available at

(go to 'Kaart overzicht').

According to the data of the public health authorities, out of the
420 human Q-fever cases notified during 2010, 310 patients have
undergone their infection during 2010. It is known that 95 patients
got infected during 2009, 6 earlier, while the infection year of the
remaining 9 patients is still to be determined. - Mod.AS]

[see also:
Q fever - Netherlands (28): update 20100601.1826
Q fever - Netherlands (27): risk assessment, Europe 20100525.1742
Q fever - Netherlands (26): update, EFSA 20100512.1544
Q fever - Netherlands (23): scientific advice, update 20100324.0945
Q fever - Netherlands (21): animal vaccination resumed 20100310.0782
Q fever - Netherlands (17): international response 20100227.0656
Q fever - Netherlands (15): 2 new outbreaks, update 20100220.0583
Q fever - Netherlands (14): PCR test reliability 20100217.0559
Q fever - Netherlands (11): culling dispute 20100206.0407
Q fever - Netherlands (09): zoo-sanitary measures 20100128.0307
Q fever - Netherlands (06): OIE 20100115.0181
Q fever - Netherlands (05): investigation committee 20100112.0144
Q fever - Netherlands (04): culling 20100111.0119
Q fever - Netherlands: monitoring 20100103.0028
2009
----
Q fever - Netherlands (19): update 20091229.4375
Q fever - Netherlands (17): pathogenicity, RFI 20091222.4312
Q fever - Netherlands (16): pathogenicity, RFI 20091222.4304
Q fever - Netherlands (13): control measures 20091209.4198
Q fever - Netherlands (11): public health 20091113.3930
Q fever - Netherlands (09): predictions 20091004.3452
Q fever - Netherlands (08): update, monitoring & animal
vaccination 20090927.3380
Q fever - Netherlands (04): fatalities 20090626.2330
Q Fever - Netherlands (03): update, animal vaccination 20090510.1744
Q fever - Netherlands: sheep & goat vaccination 20090228.0841
2008
----
Q fever - Netherlands (04): sheep & goat vaccination 20081023.3352
2007
----
Q fever - Netherlands (Noord-Brabant, Gelderland) 20070809.2592]
....................sb/arn/ejp/dk

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