NOS News•yesterday, 11:54 PM•Amended today, 08:40
Q fever has been diagnosed at a dairy sheep farm in the Gelderland town of Brakel, outgoing Minister of Agriculture Adema reports in a letter to the House of Representatives. It is the first time since 2016 that there has been an infection on a farm with dairy goats or dairy sheep.
The Q fever bacteria were found in the company’s bulk milk. This happened during a regular check-up. The bacteria in the milk probably comes from one or more young animals that were not vaccinated, the ministry writes.
Professor at Rotterdam Erasmus MC Thijs Kuiken is concerned about this. “I find it worrying that sheep were not vaccinated despite the mandatory vaccination. Because the bacteria were found in the milk, so they may be young animals, but they should have already been vaccinated.”
It is possible that some unvaccinated sheep had been taken to other sheep farms and slaughterhouses. The regulator NVWA is currently investigating this. The farmer in question has indicated that he will send all sheep from the company to slaughter in the coming period. The company has 83 adult animals and 45 lambs.
‘Risks low’
The risks to public health in the area are estimated by the RIVM as low. Kuiken endorses this. “If the other animals have been vaccinated, there is no such danger to the environment,” he says. He calls the chance of further spread very small.
The GGD Gelderland-Zuid and local administrators have been informed about the contamination. Measures are also taken to prevent other animals from being infected. The NVWA has also started an enforcement process: if it turns out that the sheep farmer is in violation, he will receive a fine.
Outbreak
The largest ever described outbreak of Q fever in the world occurred in the Netherlands between 2007 and 2010. Between 50,000 and 100,000 people became ill and more than a hundred people died.
One in five infected people suffered from Q fever fatigue syndrome, a disease similar to long Covid and ME.
