On a dairy sheep farm in Brakel in Gelderland, just across the border with Brabant, animals have become infected with Q fever. This was announced by outgoing Agriculture Minister Piet Adema on Wednesday. When it comes to Q fever, Caroline van Kessel from Den Bosch is unfortunately an expert by experience. De Bossche has suffered from Q fever fatigue syndrome (QVS) since 2010. She believes that the fact that the virus is now resurfacing is a slap in the face for victims and relatives.
The bacteria was discovered in Brakel on April 16 during an inspection. This concerns one or a few young ewes that were not vaccinated. The animals have been culled.
In addition to being a patient, Caroline van Kessel is also chairman of Q-Uestion, a foundation for people with Q fever. She says she is not impressed by the discovery.
“The vaccination program is not watertight. You are not even required to vaccinate if you have fewer than fifty sheep. There are also many companies that vaccinate too late. Then you get this,” she says in the radio program WAKKER! of Omroep Brabant.
Q fever broke out in Herpen in 2007 and led to the largest Q fever outbreak ever. Tens of thousands of people became infected and more than a hundred patients died. Since 2016, there have been no sheep or goat farms with official infections, according to outgoing Minister of Agriculture Piet Adema. Until now.
The risks to public health in Brakel are estimated by the RIVM as low. Van Kessel says that this may be the case, but believes that the outbreak and the disease that the bacteria can cause are still made very easy.
“It’s not nothing. The fact that this could happen is a slap in the face for victims and people who have lost family to Q fever. Enforcement of vaccinations simply needs to be improved. It’s no surprise that this can happen. This outbreak is exactly what we feared.”
Brakel is also very close to Brabant. “It’s getting close again. Well, adequate action is now being taken and the sheep have been culled immediately,” says Van Kessel. “But it is still very sad that it had to come to this. Besides, imagine for a moment that you live next door to this company.”
Then, according to Van Kessel, you now have a knot in your stomach. “If you have recently inhaled that bacteria, you can remain ill for the rest of your life. That is very intense, but the impact of the disease remains very underexposed.”
Van Kessel wants an apology from the government for how Q fever patients and relatives of victims were treated after the outbreak. That has not happened yet. Earlier this month, the Provincial Council decided not to apologize to Q fever patients for the slow response during the outbreak between 2006 and 2010.
The government recently released 27 million euros for post-COVID clinics, but this is not yet the case for Q fever. Long COVID and Q fever fatigue syndrome are very similar. The ombudsman therefore called in his report to exchange knowledge about both conditions.
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