Acute Q Fever Pneumonia.

Q fever is a zoonotic disease caused by Coxiella burnetii which has a worldwide distribution. Pneumonia occurs in almost half of the patients who have an acute C. burnetii infection. Less than 5-6% of community acquired pneumonia (CAP) is found to be caused by this organism. Endemicity of C. burnetii infection has been recorded in various studies carried out in our country. However there is no mention about Q fever as a cause of CAP in the various studies done to identify the aetiological agent. We report a case of acute Q fever related pneumonia and this appears to be the first reported case of pneumonia due to C. burnetii infection in India.