LAUSR

Q fever is a zoonotic infectious disease caused by Coxiella burnetii, an intracellular, gram-negative coccobacillus bacterium with a high infection capacity. The most common sites of high concentrations of the organism are the placenta, amniotic fluid, urine, faeces and milk of the infected animals. Cattle, sheep and goats are the primary reservoirs for C. burnetii. Human infection primarily occurs following the inhalation of aerosols containing C. burnetii. It mostly affects people in rural areas. There have been few paediatric cases of Q fever reported. In children, the disease is often asymptomatic. Reported cases are usually chronic infections such as chronic or multifocal osteomyelitis, chronic hepatitis, and blood culture-negative endocarditis. Symptomatic acute illness usually presents in three forms: flu-like syndrome, atypical pneumonia and hepatitis. Severe manifestation of acute disease is rare in children. Here, we present a case of severe pneumonia due to C. burnetii.