Was de uitbraak van Q-koorts een verrassing?

The world’s largest outbreak of Q fever swept the Netherlands between 2007 and 2010. The disease seemed to take us by surprise. Thousands of people fell ill, dozens of people died and patients continue to suffer from chronic Q fever even today. Eventually, tens of thousands of pregnant dairy goats were killed to prevent the causative agent of Q fever, Coxiella burnetii, to spread. The outbreak and its consequences still resonate in court cases, regional politics and reports by the National Ombudsman. How could this have happened? The most common explanation is that collaboration between veterinarians and physicians was not good enough. But is this the right analysis? Historical research provides a different perspective.

Conflict of interest and financial support: The research on which this article is based was financially supported by the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (University of Utrecht), UMC Utrecht Julius Center, and the Ministries of Economic Affairs and of Health, Welfare and Sport. An ICMJE form provided by the author is available online along with the full text of this article.