Q fever
noun
: a disease characterized by high fever, chills, muscular pains, headache, and sometimes pneumonia that is caused by a bacterium (Coxiella burnetii of the family Coxiellaceae) of which domestic animals serve as reservoirs and that is transmitted to humans especially by inhalation of infectious airborne bacteria
Examples of Q fever in a Sentence
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Cases of Japanese encephalitis were reported in India, of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in Iraq, and of Q fever among Russians along the Ukrainian border.
—
Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 21 Oct. 2022
Furthermore, other airborne pathogens, such as a bacterium called Coxiella burnetti, which passes from animals to humans and causes the illness Q fever, have caused outbreaks that were stopped directly with the use of N95s.
—Time, 14 Nov. 2022
An examination of chronic fatigue after three different infections—EBV, Q fever, and Ross River virus—identified a similar pattern: frequent post-infection symptoms, which gradually decreased over months.
—Benjamin Mazer, The Atlantic, 11 Oct. 2022
The scientists found that Dubbo residents could develop chronic fatigue after several illnesses, among them Q fever, which is caused by bacteria carried by livestock; Ross River fever, spread by mosquitoes; and Epstein-Barr infection, transmitted via human saliva.
—New York Times, 21 Jan. 2021
By 1952, the nation was itself well on its way to manufacturing weapons-grade brucella, tularemia, Q fever, anthrax, and many more biological agents, and was denying accusations of waging biological warfare by China, North Korea and Cuba (9)(10).
—Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 11 June 2013
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Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 21 Oct. 2022
Furthermore, other airborne pathogens, such as a bacterium called Coxiella burnetti, which passes from animals to humans and causes the illness Q fever, have caused outbreaks that were stopped directly with the use of N95s.
—Time, 14 Nov. 2022
An examination of chronic fatigue after three different infections—EBV, Q fever, and Ross River virus—identified a similar pattern: frequent post-infection symptoms, which gradually decreased over months.
—Benjamin Mazer, The Atlantic, 11 Oct. 2022
The scientists found that Dubbo residents could develop chronic fatigue after several illnesses, among them Q fever, which is caused by bacteria carried by livestock; Ross River fever, spread by mosquitoes; and Epstein-Barr infection, transmitted via human saliva.
—New York Times, 21 Jan. 2021
By 1952, the nation was itself well on its way to manufacturing weapons-grade brucella, tularemia, Q fever, anthrax, and many more biological agents, and was denying accusations of waging biological warfare by China, North Korea and Cuba (9)(10).
—Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 11 June 2013
Cite this Entry
“Q fever.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Q%20fever. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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