Publications by authors named "D P Dercksen"
In 2007, Q fever started to become a major public health problem in the Netherlands, with small ruminants as most probable source. In order to reduce environmental contamination, control measures for manure were implemented because of the assumption that manure was highly contaminated with Coxiella burnetii. The aims of this study were 1) to clarify the role of C.
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- Q fever is caused by the bacterium Coxiella burnetii and saw a major outbreak in the Netherlands starting in 2007, linked to small ruminants.
- Researchers analyzed 126 positive samples from ruminants to identify the genetic make-up of C. burnetii, finding a unique genotype prevalent in goat and sheep herds tied to the outbreak area.
- The similarity between the ruminant genotype and a human genotype further suggests a direct connection, indicating that this specific strain likely led to the Q fever epidemic in humans.
Recently, the number of human Q fever cases in the Netherlands increased dramatically. In response to this increase, dairy goats and dairy sheep were vaccinated against Coxiella burnetii. All pregnant dairy goats and dairy sheep in herds positive for Q fever were culled.
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