Q-FEVER PNEUMONIA IN CHILDREN IN JAPAN

The prevalence of Q fever pneumonia among children with atypical pneum onia from whom only an acute-phase serum sample was available was trac ed by using an indirect immunofluorescence (IF) test, nested PCR, and isolation. Twenty (34.5%) of 58 sera were found to have both polyvalen t and immunoglobulin M antibodies to the phase II antigen of Coxiella burnettii by the IF test, Q fever pneumonia wets present in 23 (39.7%) of 58 patients as determined by both the nested PCR and isolation and in 20 patients as determined by the IF test, The sensitivities for ne sted PCR and isolation were 100%, and that for the IF test was 87%, Ou r results indicate that nested PCR was faster and more sensitive than isolation and the IF test in the diagnosis of acute Q fever when a sin gle acute-phase serum was available. These findings suggest that C. bu rnetii is an important cause of atypical pneumonia in children in Japa n.