Q Fever A disease first recognised in Australia in 1935, and now known to have a worldwide distribu- tion, Q fever is an infection of man, cattle, sheep, goats, fowls, and rodents. In Iran, serological evidence of Q fever has been found also in horses and camels. Cause A rickettsia, Coxiella burnetii, which is resistant to heat and drying, and can be trans- mitted by ticks. Human infection can be acquired from these, from inhalation, and from drinking unpasteurised, infected milk; as well as from handling or coming into contact with the fetal membranes, faeces or urine of infected animals. Signs In farm animals, many Q fever infec- tions may be present without obvious symp- toms. However, the rickettsia is a cause of abortion, and less often of pneumonia. Incidence In the UK a preliminary survey showed that 2581 farms in England, 553 in Wales, and 240 in Scotland were infected. It has been found possible to isolate the parasite from 13,600-litre (3000-gallon) milk tankers. In a survey, sera from cattle and sheep in the northeast of Scotland were tested for antibodies to C. burnetii. Approximately 1 per cent of 4880 cattle had antibodies to the organism. These potentially infected cattle were distrib- uted throughout the area. Two flocks of sheep were tested; in one flock, 30 per cent of sheep had antibodies, while the other was negative. The flock with the high prevalence of C. burnetii antibodies appeared to be associated with an outbreak of human Q fever on that farm. Treatment Most antibiotics are rickettsiostat- ic rather than rickettsiocidal; tetracycline has been used effectively. However, the organism can remain dormant for long periods inside the host’s body cells. Public health Acute Q fever may involve the liver and heart (with resultant myocarditis). Mild cases may resemble food poisoning or influenza with headaches. Chronic Q fever occurs. Q fever in snakes Many snakes imported into the USA are infested with ticks, which transmitted Q fever to dockside workers handling a shipment of Ball pythons. Q fever from contaminated clothing This was the presumed cause of 16 out of 32 employees at a truck- repair plant becoming ill with the disease. Serological tests on a cat were positive for C. burnetii. The cat was fed at home by one of the workers at the plant. Quadriceps Quadriceps means having 4 heads, and is the collective name applied to the powerful muscles situated above the stifle-joint. These are medial and lateral vasti, and the rectus femoris; the 4th muscle (vastus intermedius) in the horse is so blended with the medial vastus that it has lost its autonomy. Quadriplegia Paralysis of all 4 limbs. ( See PARALYSIS; TICK PARALYSIS ; RACOONS; CURARE.) Quail Small, rapidly maturing game birds included as poultry in British legislation. Females start to lay eggs at 5 to 6 weeks of age; the first eggs laid are usually infertile, but thereafter high fertility can be obtained. Males are sexually active at 5 weeks. Among the diseases they may suffer are: botulism, lymphoid leukosis, Marek’s disease, Newcastle disease, pasteurellosis, mycoplasmosis, salmonellosis, quail disease (ulcerative enteritis), quail bronchitis and coccidiosis. Quail Bronchitis A highly contagious viral infection. Signs appear in all susceptible birds within 3 to 7 days of infection having been spotted in individuals. Clinical signs are very severe respiratory distress with 100 per cent morbidity and mortality from 10 per cent to 100 per cent. Quail Disease (Ulcerative enteritis of quail) A severe bacterial infection caused by Corynebacterium perdicum. Birds may die sud- denly without showing clinical signs; these birds are usually in good condition with feed in their crop. Birds less acutely affected are listless, huddling with eyes partly closed and with ruf- fled feathers. Emaciation develops witin a week. Survivors become immune. Streptomycin, chloromycetin and bacitracin have been used Q in treatment. Effective control of other diseases will help to reduce the severity of quail disease. Quarantine The imposition of measures for preventing the spread of infectious disease by which an animal or animals, which have come from potentially infected countries or areas, are kept separate from indigenous animals until their disease-free status is confirmed (or otherwise). The regulations dealing with quarantine of animals are altered from time to time, and so information on the matter is best obtained direct from the government department that deals with livestock in a particular country. The length of quarantine depends on the dis- ease whose entry is being prevented. For rabies it is 6 months (except in the case of dogs and cats from specified countries, for which new regulations apply); for foot-and-mouth and Newcastle disease it is 30 to 35 days. It is a sen- sible precaution that new stock introduced to farms, zoos, etc. should be kept separate until it is certain that they have not brought in new dis- eases or virulent strains, even if this is not required by law. ( See RABIES ; IMPORTING/EXPORTING ANIMALS; NOTIFIABLE DISEASES; PET TRAVEL SCHEME; PIGEONS.) Quarter Horse (see AMERICAN QUARTER HORSE) Quaternary Ammonium Compounds Quaternary ammonium compounds are used as antiseptics, and have found widespread applica- tion in dairy hygiene. Cetrimide – or cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide – is an example. It is used in 0.1 per cent solution for washing cows’ udders, teats, and milkers’ hands, being effective against Streptococcus agalactiae. In higher concentrations it acts as a detergent. Such compounds are readily neutralised by organic matter and should only be used on visibly clean surfaces. ( See also CETRIMIDE; HIBI- TANE .) Queen A female cat. Queensland Itch This is caused by sensitisation to bites of the midge Culicoides robertsi. The lesions resemble those of mange or eczema, and are seen usually along the animal’s back. Antihistamines are useful in treatment. The condition is regarded as an allergic dermatitis, and is similar to ‘sweet itch’. ( See under FLIES.) Quey A heifer. Quidding (Cudding) Quidding (cudding) is the name given to that condition in horses, depending upon injuries to the mouth or diseases of the teeth, in which food is taken into the mouth, chewed repeated- ly, and then expelled on to the floor of the stall or into the manger. It may result from the teeth being too sharp, irregular in height, uneven in alignment, or from permanent teeth pushing the temporaries out from the gums; it may also arise when the gums, cheeks, or tongue have been injured or are diseased. Paralysis of the throat, or some other condition which causes inability to swallow, can cause quidding. ( See MOUTH , DISEASES OF; TEETH, DISEASES OF.) Quinine Quinine is an alkaloid obtained from the bark of various species of cinchona trees in South America. The bark contains 4 alkaloids, of which quinine is the most active and impor- tant, the others being quinidine, cinchonine, and cinchonidine. Quinine is usually used in the form of one of its salts, i.e. sulphate, hydrochloride, or hydro- bromate of qui-nine. Action. Quinine causes a lowering of temper- ature in fevers. In man, it is used for the relief of malaria. Uses These have dwindled. Before the advent of the sulfa drugs and antibiotics it was much used in influenza, distemper, and similar condi- tions. It is sometimes given as an intramuscular injection. Owing to its very bitter taste it is seldom that it will be taken in the food. Toxicity The dog is very susceptible to quinine and may become blind at plasma con- centrations readily tolerated by man. Quittor Quittor is a condition of the ‘lateral’ cartilages of the horse’s foot, in which suppuration occurs, with pus escaping from an opening in the region of the coronet. This, and the bulbs of the heels, are swollen and painful. The cause is an injury to the cartilage or to infection, or both. There is usually some degree of lameness. Antibiotics are used in treatment. 580 Quarantine Q . form of one of its salts, i.e. sulphate, hydrochloride, or hydro- bromate of qui-nine. Action. Quinine causes a lowering of temper- ature in fevers. In man, it is used for the relief of malaria. Uses. South America. The bark contains 4 alkaloids, of which quinine is the most active and impor- tant, the others being quinidine, cinchonine, and cinchonidine. Quinine is usually used in the form of one of its. dis- eases or virulent strains, even if this is not required by law. ( See RABIES ; IMPORTING/EXPORTING ANIMALS; NOTIFIABLE DISEASES; PET TRAVEL SCHEME; PIGEONS.) Quarter Horse (see AMERICAN QUARTER