Main Entry: Cox·i·el·la

Pronunciation: \ˌkäk-sē-ˈel-ə\

Function: noun

: a genus of small pleomorphic rickettsial bacteria occurring intercellularly in ticks and intracellularly in the cytoplasm of vertebrates and including the causative organism (C. burnetii) of Q fever

Cox \ˈkäks\ , Herald Rea (born 1907), American bacteriologist. Cox's areas of research include neurotropic virus diseases, rickettsial diseases, virus infections, and vaccines. In 1937 Frank MacFarlane Burnet, an Australian physician, reported his discovery with Mavis Freeman of the causative organism of Q fever. At about the same time Cox isolated this causative agent. The genus Coxiella of bacteria created to contain the rickettsial agent (Coxiella burnetii) was named after Cox and the species after Burnet.