A 38-year-old woman of veterinary profession, in charge of monitoring wild animals and assisting in the delivery of domestic livestock. She starts with a high fever with chills, headache, myalgia and non-productive cough that she interprets as a flu-like process. She presented with chest pain. Chest X-ray showed bilateral pulmonary infiltrates in lower fields. A serologic test was performed with elevated antibody titers against phase I antigens. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
Acute infection by Coxiella burnetii manifested in this case by Pneumonia. Coxiella infection is not transmitted by ticks. The contact can be with high probability at the time of delivery of an infected farm animal, in which the bacterium is disseminated in aerosols. The treatment of choice is with doxycycline in the acute phase (if meningitis is present, quinolones are preferred due to penetration of the blood-brain barrier). The combination of doxycycline plus hicroxychloroquine can be used, but for chronic Q fever (which is where elevation of antibodies against phase I antigens is observed and carries a higher risk of mortality).
The way of transmission of this entity is by ticks.
Both doxycycline and hydroxychloroquine are effective in treating acute forms of this disease.
In its acute form it also presents, generally, elevation of antibodies against phase I antigens.
Mortality in acute forms is almost nonexistent.
Coxiella infection is not transmitted by ticks.
The combination of doxycycline plus hicroxychloroquine can be used, but for chronic Q fever (which is where elevation of antibodies against phase I antigens is observed and carries a higher risk of mortality).