The Rural Voice, 1987-11, Page 40BES
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38 THE RURAL VOICE
NEWS
NEW Q FEVER
TEST AVAILABLE
A test recently developed at the On-
tario Veterinary College in Guelph
makes it easy to identify Q fever in herds
of goats, sheep, and cattle.
Although Q fever is relatively rare,
more than 30 cases were reported in
Ontario last year. And the incidence of
Q fever is increasing. In dairy herds in
1961, just over two per cent of animals
tested showed infection. By the mid-
1980s, the rate was 67 per cent.
Professor Gerhard Lang, in veteri-
nary microbiology and immunology at
the University of Guelph, says the dis-
ease is hardly noticeable in animals and
can be hard to diagnose in humans be-
cause it masquerades as other illnesses.
But Q fever, he adds, can be serious
enough to hospitalize patients, and can
cause permanent damage to the heart
and liver.
The problem has been neglected
because farm families often develop
immunity through continuous expo-
sure, Lang says.
In animals, the disease agent, cox-
iella, can cause abortion. Unpasteurized
milk can be contaminated although the
udder and milk don't change their ap-
pearance.
Although animals may not be sick,
Lang says farmers should be concerned
because they can be held legally respon-
sible for animals identified as the source
of infection.
The improved blood test for coxiella
infection can be used in laboratories as
the basis for a control strategy involving
the detection and removal of infected
animals and stringent hygienic precau-
tions during calving, when the environ-
ment can be contaminated by coxiella.
In addition to using a rigorous hy-
giene program for seriously infected
herds, Lang says farmers must rear re-
placement stock away from infected
animals. In extreme cases, all livestock
must be removed and holding facilities
disinfected before restocking with clean
animals.
In a recent survey of dairy goat herds
in Ontario, 20 per cent tested coxiella-
positive. There is no government pro-
gram to test herds, but Lang has been
testing animals at owners' requests.0