The Varying Epidemiology of Q Fever in the South-East Region of Great Britain II. In two Rural Areas

The epidemiology of Q fever in the residents of two rural areas, respectively, the Romney Marsh in Kent and Chatteris-Witchford rural districts in Cambridgeshire, has been studied. In the Romney Marsh some 14 % of persons who had suffered from pneumonia or undiagnosed fever probably had Q fever. No cases of Q fever were detected in Chatteris-Witchford R.D. Two sources of infection—sheep and infected cows' milk—were found in the Romney Marsh, and the infection of some of the cases of Q fever could be attributed to them. There was also a group of cases who were probably not infected from milk or by direct exposure to sheep. They may, however, have been indirectly infected from sheep. The absence of Q fever in the Chatteris-Witchford area is of interest in view of the use of raw milk by a substantial proportion of the inhabitants of this area and also because of their contact with cattle. Investigation, however, failed to reveal any infection of the cattle with Rickettsia burneti.