Assessing the long-term health impact of Q-fever in the Netherlands: a prospective cohort study started in 2007 on the largest documented Q-fever outbreak to date.

Background: Between 2007 and 2011, the Netherlands experienced the largest documented Q-fever outbreak to date with a total of 4108 notified acute Q-fever patients. Previous studies have indicated that Q-fever patients may suffer from long-lasting health effects, such as fatigue and reduced quality of life. Our study aims to determine the long-term health impact of Q-fever.