Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28246578›Full record

ArticleWestern Pacific surveillance and response journal : WPSAR

A Q fever cluster among workers at an abattoir in south-western Sydney, Australia, 2015.

Heidi Lord, Stephanie Fletcher-Lartey, Guy Weerasinghe, Meena Chandra, Nilva Egana, Nicole Schembri, Stephen Conaty

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Western Pacific surveillance and response journal : WPSAR. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 29% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. A systematic review of global Q fever outbreaks.One health (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2024
    Review
  3. Exposure of South African Abattoir Workers toTropical medicine and infectious disease · 2022
    Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Heidi LordPublic Health Unit, South Western Sydney Local Health District.
Stephanie Fletcher-LarteyPublic Health Unit, South Western Sydney Local Health District.
Guy WeerasingheGreater Sydney Local Land Services.
Meena ChandraPublic Health Unit, South Western Sydney Local Health District.
Nilva EganaPublic Health Unit, South Western Sydney Local Health District.
Nicole SchembriGreater Sydney Local Land Services.
Stephen ConatyPublic Health Unit, South Western Sydney Local Health District.
Sydney Local Health District · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn September 2015, the Public Health Unit of the South Western Sydney Local Health District was notified of two possible Q fever cases. Case investigation identified that both cases were employed at an abattoir, and both cases advised that co-workers had experienced similar symptoms. Public Health Unit staff also recalled interviewing in late 2014 at least one other Q fever case who worked at the same abattoir. This prompted an outbreak investigation.

methodsThe investigation incorporated active case finding, microbiological analysis, field investigation and a risk factor survey. Included cases were laboratory definitive or suspected cases occurring from October 2014 to October 2015, residing or working in south-western Sydney. A suspected case had clinically compatible illness, high-risk exposure and was epidemiologically linked to another confirmed case. A confirmed case included laboratory detection of

resultsEight cases met the case definition with seven confirmed (including a deceased case) and one suspected. The eight cases were all males who had been employed at an abattoir in south-western Sydney during their incubation period; symptom onset dates ranged from November 2014 to September 2015. Field investigation identified multiple potential risk factors at the abattoir, and the majority (75%) of employees were not vaccinated against Q fever despite this high-risk setting.

conclusionThis cluster of Q fever in a single abattoir confirms the significance of this zoonotic disease as an occupational hazard among persons working in high-risk environments. Implementation of Q fever vaccination programmes should eliminate Q fever in high-risk occupational settings.

Indexed as

AbattoirsAdolescentAdultAnimalsAustraliaCattleDisease OutbreaksFarmersGoatsHumansMaleMiddle AgedOccupational DiseasesQ FeverRetrospective StudiesRisk Factors

Identifiers

PMID28246578
PMCPMC5330219
OpenAlexW2568065137

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.