Wang D, Zhang L, Cai Z, Liu Y. Diagnosis of Acute Q Fever in a Patient by Using Metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing: A Case Report.
Infect Drug Resist 2023;
16:1923-1930. [PMID:
37025192 PMCID:
PMC10072143 DOI:
10.2147/idr.s405697]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2023] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Background
Q fever is a zoonotic disease caused by Coxiella burnetii infection, with domestic ruminants as the main source of infection and tick bites as one of the transmission vectors. The clinical manifestations of Q fever are varied and atypical. For the reason that C. burnetii is a strictly intracellular pathogen, it is difficult to be diagnosed by traditional culture methods. Additionally, serological and molecular diagnostic methods to assist in the diagnosis of Q fever are not routinely performed in most clinical laboratories. Therefore, early and rapid diagnosis of Q fever is a challenge.
Case Presentation
In the present study, a 34-year-old male patient presented with an acute onset and symptoms such as high fever, lethargy, pulmonary infection, and liver damage. In addition, he had a history of tick bites. Despite conducting relevant laboratory and radiological examinations, the etiology remained unknown. Subsequently, we detected the sequence reads of C. burnetii in a venous blood sample using metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS), and the symptoms of patients were significantly improved after timely treatment with the special drug tetracycline. To our knowledge, this is the first report of Q fever associated with C. burnetii detected directly from venous blood sample in Wuhan, China.
Conclusion
Metagenomic next-generation sequencing is a new diagnostic technology that provides rapid and accurate detection of unexplained infections, including Q fever. Its application plays a crucial role in clinical diagnosis for identifying elusive pathogens.
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