Understanding the epidemiology and impacts of Coxiella burnetii

Coxiella burnetii is the zoonotic bacterium that causes Q fever.  Q fever affects the health and productivity of people and animals globally.  In the OHRBID lab we have two geographic areas of focus of our Q fever research.  We work with partners in northern Tanzania (including KCRI) to quantify the human health impacts and characterise the zoonotic transmission of Q fever to inform improved clinical detection and prevention of infections.  In Scotland, we investigate the within herd transmission dynamics and production impacts of Q fever in dairy cattle to quantify production impacts, understand transmission and inform intervention evaluation.