An epidemic of Q fever at Princeville, Quebec.

Abstract

PRINCE VILLE has a population of about 2,700 and is located approximately -*■ SO miles south of the St. Lawrence River, 60 miles from Quebec City and 110 miles from Montreal. It is in the County of Arthabaska and is served by the county health unit with headquarters at Victoriaville. On April 9, 1956, two Princeville physicians reported by telephone an outbreak of illness at the Co-operative Abattoir. It was first thought to be a salmonella infection but the patients did not respond to antibiotic therapy and, moreover, serum agglutination tests on a dozen blood samples gave inconclusive results. In view of the failure to detect the cause and on account of the seriousness of the situation the director of the health unit consulted the Provincial Epidemiologist. Of the 170 employees of the abattoir, about 30 fell ill within a week and many others did not feel well. The general pattern of the outbreak suggested a virus infection. The day after reporting the outbreak the director of the health unit brought samples of the blood of the 14 hospitalized patients to the Virus Laboratory of the Institute of Microbiology and Hygiene of the University of Montreal. A few days later the laboratory reported: 12 samples positive, 1 anti-complementary, and 1 negative to Coxiella burneti antigen. We were thus faced with the first epidemic of Q fever to be reported in Canada.