Hyperendemic Focus of Q Fever Related to Sheep and Wind
American Journal of Epidemiology·
- DOI
- 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a009920
- PMID
- 10400556
- PMCID
- —
- OpenAlex
- W2090647767
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The paper frames the area as having unusually high Q fever endemicity and describes this as a public health problem. It suggests further study to confirm the pattern and identify preventable risk factors.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The article asks whether the higher Q fever incidence around Martigues in southern France is associated with sheep breeding and local wind patterns.
Study design
This is an observational epidemiologic study using diagnosed Q fever cases from 1990 to 1995 and comparing incidence across nearby areas. The abstract also describes graphical and statistical assessment of area-level sheep density and wind exposure.
Population and setting
The setting is the Bouches-du-Rhône district in southern France, centered on Martigues near Marseille and Aix-en-Provence. The reported cases are 289 patients diagnosed with Q fever between 1990 and 1995.
Main findings
The abstract reports 289 Q fever diagnoses in the study area, with an incidence rate of 35.4 per 100,000, higher than Marseille (6.6) and Aix-en-Provence (11.4). It also reports a graphical and statistical relation between sheep density, Q fever incidence, and the Mistral wind, while the authors frame aerosol contamination as a hypothesis rather than a confirmed explanation.
Public-health relevance
The paper frames the area as having unusually high Q fever endemicity and describes this as a public health problem. It suggests further study to confirm the pattern and identify preventable risk factors.
Important limitations
The abstract does not provide explicit limitations. The summary is therefore limited to the supplied single-article abstract and metadata, and the original paper is needed for decision-grade interpretation; the reported relations are area-level and do not establish causality.
GIDS interpretation
For discoverability, the article sits at the intersection of Q fever epidemiology, animal reservoir context, and environmental transmission conditions in southern France. This is contextual only and should not be treated as evidence of a live surveillance signal.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 10 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.