from Lyme Autism Group - iella burnetii Infection

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iella burnetii Infection.

Journal: Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2005 Dec;1063:105-14.

Author: Kazar J.

Affiliation: Research Base of the Slovak Medical University, Bratislava,

Slovak Republic. jan.kazar@...<mailto:jan.kazar@...>.

NLM Citation: PMID: 16481501

iella burnetii is an obligate intracellular bacterium that causes a

worldwide zoonosis, Q fever, and can be misused as a biological warfare

agent. Infection in animals (coxiellosis) is mostly persistent. Infection

in humans is often asymptomatic, but it can manifest as an acute disease

(usually a self-limited flu-like illness, pneumonia, or hepatitis) or as a

chronic form (mainly endocarditis, *but also hepatitis and chronic fatigue

syndrome).

*

C. burnetii infection in pregnant women may result in abortions, premature

deliveries, and stillbirths. Infection in nature is maintained and

transmitted by ticks as the principal vector and reservoir. Cattle, sheep,

and goats are the most important source of human infections. Humans

contract C. burnetii infection *mostly by aerosol in contact with

contaminated environs, wind playing an important factor in spreading the

infection. The wide distribution of C. burnetii contributes to a high

resistance of its extracellular small cell variant to environmental

conditions.

*

Its intracellular large cell variant, adapted to survive under harsh

conditions of phagolysosomes, enables long-term survival and persistence of

C. burnetii, namely in monocytes/macrophages.* Host factors such as

underlying disease and cell-mediated immunity play a decisive *role* in the

clinical expression of C. burnetii infection.

*

Complete genome analysis of C. burnetii will certainly contribute to better

understanding of the pathogenesis of C. burnetii infection and will improve

Q fever diagnosis and immunoprophylaxis.