Q fever is not over: 95 total deaths now

A total of 95 people died of Q fever. This number can be derived from the national Q Q fever-adjusted national database. Two years ago, 74 people died as a result of Q fever.

Q fever, transmitted from one bacterium to a person by an animal, was reported in 2007 on a farm. Goat farming in the town of Herpen, in North Brabant. The disease then spread rapidly across the country. Most infections occurred between 2007 and 2010.

The outbreak infected more than 4,000 people. The disease is not transmissible from man to man.

During this outbreak, a number of infected people developed chronic Q fever, which can also cause problems later. Vascular walls and heart valves can be infected. This could lead to complications such as heart failure or rupture of a main artery.

65 deaths in 2016

In 2016, 65 patients had died of chronic Q fever since hatching. With nine patients dying from acute Q fever, the total number of deceased patients was 74, 21 fewer than today.

"Many people think that fever Q is now over, if you had me in 2010 I was asked if I thought people would die of Q fever in 2018, my answer was" no. "But there are still patients with chronic Q fever and people continue to die," says Chantal Bleeker, an internist-infectiologist. of the UMC Radboud government involved in the database

"The government has no control over the Q fever"

The Q-uestion Foundation again calls for "very urgent" the government to He takes action. "The news is dramatic and barely understandable, it shows once again that fever Q is not over, as many doctors, politicians and administrators claim, and that the government has no hold on this record since 2005. "writes the interest group in a press release.

The foundation wishes to select at-risk groups, an independent survey of recent years, an apology and compensation for the thousands of people affected.

Data from patients with chronic Q fever spotted in the aforementioned database of UMC Utrecht Hospital, Radboudumc Hospitals and Brabant Jeroen Bosch.

In September, the Ministry of Health announced that Dutch nationals who had Q fever between January 2007 and December 2011 could apply from 1 October. submit for a fee. A maximum of 15,000 euros is paid per request.

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