Q fever in the Netherlands: an update on the epidemiology and control measures

Since the steady rise in human cases which started in 2007, Q fever has become a major public health problem in the Netherlands with 2,357 human cases notified in the year 2009. Ongoing research confirms that abortion waves on dairy goat farms are the primary source of infection for humans, primarily affecting people living close (under 5 km) to such a dairy goat farm. To reverse the trend of the last three years, drastic measures have been implemented, including the large-scale culling of pregnant goats on infected farms.