{"id":66884,"date":"2025-08-14T05:39:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T05:39:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/66884\/"},"modified":"2025-08-14T05:39:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T05:39:08","slug":"govt-funding-sought-for-vaccine-to-combat-rising-q-fever-threat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/66884\/","title":{"rendered":"Govt funding sought for vaccine to combat rising Q Fever threat"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOBBY groups are seeking urgent government funding to help reduce rates of Q fever in Australia \u2013 which has one of the highest incidences in the world of the debilitating disease.<\/p>\n

Q fever is a flu-like illness caused by a bacterial infection, which typically spreads to humans from animals such as cattle, sheep and goats.<\/p>\n

\"shutterstock\"Queensland state farm organisation AgForce and the Q Fever Interest Group have combined forces to pressure the State government for greater support, both in subsidising currently expensive vaccines and developing new more effective ones.<\/p>\n

Queensland accounts for around half of all Australia\u2019s cases of Q fever, with research showing that a Queenslander is eight times more likely to be diagnosed than someone from NSW. The disease was first identified by a GP whose practise was located not far from Brisbane\u2019s Cannon Hill Saleyards and Meatworks complex. Meatworkers kept presenting with similar symptoms, leading to his discovery of the previously unknown Q (standing for Query) fever.<\/p>\n

Queensland Health Infectious Diseases expert and QFIG member Dr Robert Horvath said increased research funding to develop a new vaccine is urgently needed to address a concerning rise in Q fever cases.<\/p>\n

\u201cLess than ten percent of infections with Q fever are diagnosed, most are missed,\u201d Dr Horvath said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been witnessing a largely persistent increase in case numbers in the past decade. Last year 873 Australians were diagnosed, and we are on trend to crack more than 1000 diagnoses this year. That would be the most cases of Q fever since 1992,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Early intervention and diagnosis of Q Fever was critical in reducing the progression of the illness.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut unfortunately, only a small proportion of people with chronic Q fever are diagnosed, and if it\u2019s not treated quickly \u2013 it can become a chronic condition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regional, rural impact<\/p>\n

AgForce policy director Ruth Thompson said one of the biggest concerns was how difficult chronic Q fever is to manage in regional, rural and remote locations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re really seeking is immediate funding to subsidise the existing Q fever vaccine,\u201d Dr Thompson said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cThe cost of Q-Vax is hundreds of dollars, which is stopping some people from getting the vaccination \u2013 even though it\u2019s desperately needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really implore the government to better fund this and provide subsidised vaccination options \u2013 particularly for anyone who could potentially be exposed to Q fever.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also need more GPs available to administer this vaccination because that\u2019s a barrier as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr Horvath said a public awareness campaign along with increased training for doctors so they can better diagnose the disease would also reduce the risk of deadly complications.<\/p>\n

\u201cA University of Queensland research study in progress suggests there is a link between Q fever and living near a cattle-transport route \u2013 which is worrying because that involves no actual occupational exposure, and highlights the need for better treatment and prevention for a wider population,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome cases are severe, with admissions to ICU or death. Meningitis is not rare with this, however people rarely test for it, and instead treat with ineffective agents.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the existing Q-Vax vaccine is highly effective, it has several drawbacks:<\/p>\n

There is a high risk of allergic reaction
\nPre-pathology is required before the vaccine is administered
\nThe cost is prohibitive (between $300-$400) and involves multiple doctor visits
\nThe tyranny of distance to access doctors is a significant barrier<\/p>\n

The development of a new vaccine without the \u201creactogenicity\u201d of the current Q-Vax vaccine would eliminate the need for the complicated pre-testing process, and would enable boosters every 10-20 years to ensure life-long protection,\u201d Dr Horvath said.<\/p>\n

\u201cA vaccine like this could potentially have a global market which may generate revenue for Australia as well as cement Australia as a medical technology leader for future investments.<\/p>\n

Stephen Graves at the ARRL (Australian Rickettsial Reference Laboratory) in Geelong is in the early stages of developing such a vaccine but is seeking $1.4 million to progress this vaccine towards human trials.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot let such a potentially significant medical breakthrough for such a devastating disease fall over because of a lack of funding,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

More financial support is also needed for epidemiology projects to investigate the devastating effects of Q fever in pregnancy, early childhood, Indigenous Australians, and high-prevalence regions to design more effective targeted vaccination and education campaigns.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Source: AgForce<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOBBY groups are seeking urgent government funding to help reduce rates of Q fever in Australia \u2013 which…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":66885,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[64,63,137,43406,22193,4886],"class_list":["post-66884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-health","tag-q-fever","tag-symptoms","tag-vaccine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}