Q fever, a disease that is mainly transmitted to humans from goats and sheep and especially through the air, suddenly became the talk of the town some fifteen years ago. The number of infections soared and would increase for a few more years. And although the number has fallen very sharply, there are still people who suffer from after-effects. From Wednesday, for the first time after the corona epidemic, a – rather usual – tour will start with meetings between fellow sufferers, during which the latest developments are also explained.
As a result of the experiences with corona and the prolonged Covid caused by it, those fellow sufferers sometimes experience a little more understanding for their own, comparable problems, such as fatigue. On the other hand, it is also feared that attention to the consequences of Q fever will be swallowed up by all the interest in corona, says a spokeswoman for Q-support, a foundation that supports people with Q fever.
According to the RIVM health institute, most people do not notice any infection with Q fever, but others get headaches, fever, pneumonia, dry cough and chest pain. Then there is ‘acute Q fever’. Infection can also cause liver inflammation and inflammation of a blood vessel or the heart valves. Sometimes the disease is even fatal. About 20 percent of the people who become very ill from it, have complaints for a longer period of time, including concentration problems and muscle and joint pains, according to the foundation.
According to the first results from a database of Q-support set up last year, twelve different complaints still occur ten years after infection, but fatigue and concentration problems are the first. Of the 448 employees on the database, 46 percent had to stop working completely and a further 33 percent reduced their working hours. Many have little energy left for family, friends and hobbies. Only 17 percent still have hope that the situation will ever improve.
While meetings during the corona epidemic were inadvisable for everyone, people who experience lasting effects of Q fever had to be completely careful. Now said tour can be organized again, in Woerden, Oss, Tilburg, Enschede, Assen, Schinnen and Venray. Healthcare professionals are also involved. Q-support estimates that the target audience for the meetings is about 1200 people.
According to the RIVM, ten people had acute Q fever this year. In the years 2008 and 2009, when the disease spread like this, 1000 and 2354 respectively were counted with this disease. In 2020 and 2021 there were both years 7.
By: ANP | Photo: ANP