Q (or Query) fever is a disease that is caused by the bacterium Coxiella burnetii. The bacterium is passed to humans by contact with infected animals such as sheep, cattle, and goats, which are the main reservoirs of the microorganism. The disease, which was first described in Australia in 1935, can have a short-term (acute) stage and, in some people, a much longer, chronic stage.

The bacterium that causes Q fever is a rickettsia. Other rickettsia are responsible for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and trench fever, as examples. Coxiella burnetti and the other rickettsia are Gram-negative organisms, which need to infect host cells in order to grow and divide. Outside of the host the bacteria can survive, but do not replicate. Q fever differs from the other rickettsial diseases in that it is caused by the inhalation of the bacteria, not by the bite of a tick...