Coxiella burnetii
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2008-07-10T22:38:47Z
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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgrey
| name = ''Coxiella burnetii''
| image = Coxiella_burnetii_01.JPG
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = ''C. burnetii'', the causative agent of [[Q fever]]
| regnum = [[Bacterium|Bacteria]]
| phylum = [[Proteobacteria]]
| classis = Gamma Proteobacteria
| ordo = [[Legionellales]]
| familia = [[Coxiellaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Coxiella]]''
| species = '''''C. burnetii'''''
| binomial = ''Coxiella burnetii''
| binomial_authority = (Derrick 1939)<br>Philip 1948
}}
'''''Coxiella burnetii''''' is a species of [[intracellular]], pathogenic [[bacterium|bacteria]], and is the causative agent of [[Q fever]]. The genus ''Coxiella'' is morphologically similar to the [[rickettsia]], but with a variety of genetic and physiological differences. ''C. burnetii'' are small [[Gram negative]] bacteria with two growth phases, as well as a [[endospore|spore]] form which lies idle in soil.<ref>{{cite book | author = Ryan KJ; Ray CG (editors) | title = Sherris Medical Microbiology | edition = 4th ed. | publisher = McGraw Hill | year = 2004 | id = ISBN 0-8385-8529-9 }}</ref> It can survive standard disinfectants, and is resistant to many other environmental changes like those presented in the phagolysosome.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | last = Sankaran | first = Neeraja | encyclopedia = Microbes and people : an A-Z of microorganisms in our lives | title = Coxiella burnetii | year = 2000 | publisher = The Oryx Press | location = Phoenix, Arizona | id = ISBN 1-57356-217-3 | pages = 72}} "In contrast to other rickettsiae, which are highly sensitive and easily killed by chemical disinfectants and changes in their surroundings, C. burnetii is highly resistant" & {{cite web | date=2003-02-13 | url=http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/qfever/index.htm |title=Q fever | publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; National Center for Infectious Diseases; Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases; Viral and Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch | accessdate=2006-05-24}}
"The organisms are resistant to heat, drying, and many common disinfectants."</ref>
==Pathogenesis==
The ID<sub>50</sub> (the dose needed to infect 50% of experimental subjects) is one via inhalation — i.e. inhalation of one organism will yield disease in 50% of the population. This is an extremely low infectious dose, making ''C. burnetii'' the most infectious organism known to man.<ref>[http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/qfever/ Q fever caused by Coxiella burnetii]</ref> Disease occurs in two stages: an acute stage that presents with headaches, chills, and respiratory symptoms, and an insidious chronic stage.
While most infections clear up spontaneously, treatment with [[tetracycline]] or [[doxycycline]] appears to reduce the symptomatic duration and reduce the likelihood of chronic infection. A combination of erythromycin and rifampin is highly effective in curing and prevention of disease and so is vaccination with Q-vax vaccine (CSL).
The bacteria use a Type IVB secretion system known as Icm/Dot to inject effector proteins called Ank proteins into the host. These effectors increase the bacteria's ability to survive inside the host cell. In ''Legionella pneumophila'', which uses the same secretion system and also injects Ank proteins, survival is enhanced because these Ank proteins interfere with fusion of the bacteria-containing vacuole with the host's degradation endosomes.<ref>Pan X, Lührmann A, Satoh A, Laskowski-Arce MA, Roy CR. Ankyrin repeat proteins comprise a diverse family of bacterial type IV effectors. ''Science''. 2008 Jun 20;320(5883):1651-4. PMID 18566289. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1158160 DOI:10.1126/science.1158160]</ref>
==References==
<references/>
==External links==
* [http://patric.vbi.vt.edu/organism/overview.php?organismId=2 Coxiella] (from [http://patric.vbi.vt.edu/ PATRIC] the PathoSystems Resource Integration Center, a [http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/ NIAID] Bioinformatics Resource Center)
[[Category:Proteobacteria]]
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