A Case of Q Fever Probably Contracted by Exposure to Ticks in Nature

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Abstract
A 24 yr. old man, returned from a trip in the Bitterroot Mts., removed the ticks from his clothes and crushed them between his fingers. Two weeks later he became ill. The first diagnosis was influenza. Blood serum tests were negative for Q fever, tularemia and brucellosis. Several weeks later the serum was positive for Q fever by both complement fixation and agglutination tests. A strain of Q fever rickettsia was isolated from the first serum sample taken. It is suggested the disease was acquired from the ticks through a skin abrasion or possibly by entrance through the intact skin.
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