A New Disease !

Australia's farmers are sounding the alarm.   A new disease which the medical profession has chosen to call " Q Fever "is ravaging the farming community and showing every indication that it may spread into the general population..    The farmers are calling for research to develop a vaccine - and for this to be included on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

Q Fever is a mysterious disease that made its appearance in recent years, possibly as a divergence from some other disease that has acclimatized to our increasingly hot summers.  In its initial stages is presents with flu like symptoms but it is a bacteria that does not respond to the usual range of anti-biotics.  Many sufferers require intensive care and it is common to leaver an aftermath of long term fatigue.  Some people have given up driving cars for fear of falling asleep behind the wheel.

Initially, it was restricted to those working with livestock as the common factor was birthing fluids or blood as the source of transmission, but it has since widened and there is suspicion that it is spreading to native animals.  The risk has increased to abattoir workers, butchers and people who prepare meat dishes in their own homes.

The farming industry thinks this is a disease rapidly gaining a threshold.   There were 225 confirmed cases last year and that was an increase from 180 the year before.     It first appeared in 2012 with just ten cases - hence  we have a growing danger.

It may be more prevalent than we think. An extraordinary number of people present to their doctor with what they call " long term fatigue " for which no cause can be found.  In many cases this inertia leads to liver and heart damage and if left untreated can be a cause of early death.   It is quite possible that Q Fever has escaped the farm scene and is now rampant in the city, but undiagnosed.

If the research people are correct and Q Fever is spread through contact with animal blood we have a problem because of the wide availability of raw meat in butchers and supermarkets that just about every family handles in meal preparation.

Developing a vaccine to thwart a disease usually takes time and the farmers are urging the giant drug industry to put Q Fever high on their target list.   The disease front is never static and it seems that rising world temperatures are producing opportunities for old diseases to take new forms.