Panayam kay Philippine College of Physicians/Infectious Diseases Expert Dr. Rontgene Solante kaugnay sa Q Fever
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00:00What is Q-Fever?
00:02We have with us Dr. Rontgen Solante,
00:06Infectious Diseases Expert and President of the Philippine College of Physicians.
00:11Dr. Rontgen, good afternoon.
00:13Hi, good afternoon, Ninia.
00:16Dr. Rontgen, what is Q-Fever?
00:20Where did it start?
00:22And why is it called Q-Fever?
00:26Q-Fever is a disease that is caused by an animal's reservoir.
00:38Most of the time, it is caused by goats, sheep, and cattle.
00:44Usually, Q-Fever is caused by a bacteria.
00:49It's not a viral infection, it's a bacterial infection
00:54that is carried by the animals that I mentioned earlier.
00:58And usually, they can cross from an animal to a human
01:03for those who are handling those types of animals,
01:07especially those who are taking care of these types of animals.
01:12And most of the time, if there is such a cross-transmission from an animal to a human,
01:18it rarely causes a severe infection.
01:21So, the symptoms are fever, headache, and body aches.
01:25And usually, 60-70% is a self-limited disease
01:30that even if you don't take antibiotics, it can be cured.
01:34So, those are the characteristic and common manifestations of Q-Fever.
01:41Okay, Dr. Solantes, this is ADG Malaya.
01:44Before, we were just talking about COVID, but now, it's Q-Fever.
01:48Who are the people who are considered high-risk for Q-Fever?
01:54How bad is this disease when it affects a person?
01:58Yes, Jonathan. So now, we're done with COVID.
02:02But Q-Fever is very rare in the Philippines.
02:06Because usually, it's common in Western countries
02:10where animals like imported goats or cattle are infected.
02:15But there are vulnerable ones.
02:17These vulnerable populations are the ones who are affected by these types of animals.
02:23But based on data on these types of diseases,
02:27it rarely causes severe infection.
02:29But there are like 30-40%.
02:32Even if they are not vulnerable populations,
02:35but their contact with infected animals is really high in intensity.
02:42High intensity means that they feed and take care of them.
02:46Sometimes, it can cause complications in the heart.
02:49It can cause endocarditis or inflammation in the heart.
02:53And sometimes, it can also cause encephalitis.
02:57It can affect the brain.
02:58But generally, the infection is not fatal.
03:04Okay.
03:05If there are symptoms, what are the first aid solutions?
03:10And how do you treat it?
03:12Did you say it's antibiotics or self-limiting?
03:15Even if there's no medicine, does it just get better?
03:19Yes, ma'am.
03:20First of all, if there are these types of infections,
03:25the first investigation is,
03:28does it take care of the animals we're talking about?
03:32Because not anybody can just get it.
03:34It's human-to-human transmission.
03:37It's not so common to get this from another human.
03:40It's really coming from animals.
03:42So, first of all, we're asking if you have these types of animals to take care of.
03:48If you have,
03:49look at how many months it took to take care of it.
03:53If the animals it took care of are still sick.
03:57Then, if it has symptoms like cough, fever, and body aches,
04:03and the fever doesn't go down for 5 to 7 days,
04:07then that will be the start of an investigation.
04:10You should include the Q fever as one of your differentials.
04:14It's included in the diseases you're thinking about because of the exposure of the person.
04:20Okay.
04:21So, doc, how do you determine if you have this?
04:24What's the diagnosis?
04:25And are there lab exams that can be done to know if a patient has Q fever?
04:33Yes, John.
04:34We have blood exams.
04:37From those blood examinations,
04:39you can see if you have exposure to this infection.
04:44It's easy to diagnose because these blood examinations are so sensitive.
04:50It's like COVID.
04:52IgG, IgMD4.
04:54If you remember, we have tests like that for COVID.
04:59This time, this is also what we do for Q fever.
05:03We measure the immunoglobulin, the titer.
05:07If the titer is high, that means there's an infection in the body
05:11and there's an exposure to those kinds of symptoms.
05:17Okay.
05:18As you said, prevention is better than cure.
05:21What are the things that should be avoided so that this disease won't spread?
05:27Let me just mention, I'm glad to know that it's not human-to-human.
05:31So, it means that it's not contagious.
05:35Yes.
05:36I think our priority here is especially those who raise goats.
05:41Because goats and castles, we don't have many sheep here.
05:44Goats are one of the carriers.
05:48I think, first of all, when they raise goats, they have to protect themselves.
05:52They have to wear gloves.
05:54Especially those who have a lot of goat farms.
05:59Then, for example, when they cut them,
06:02they really have to wear something that doesn't contaminate the fluids of these animals.
06:10Most of the time, these kinds of animals are the ones that are contaminated with the organisms.
06:17Also, the ones who clean these animals can be contaminated by touching,
06:21by not wearing anything like face masks.
06:25It can also be aerosolized.
06:27Especially when these kinds of animals' fluids are drying up.
06:31That's the first and most common transmission.
06:35It will enter the lungs.
06:37Sir, Doctor, is it possible to get this disease when you eat, let's say, a goat?
06:46Yes.
06:47Because when you eat it, is it okay when it's cooked?
06:51When it's cooked, there's no problem.
06:54It's just that the fluids, the domain of these kinds of animals,
07:00is the most common source of infection.
07:02But when it's cut and sold,
07:07it should be cooked well, fully cooked, so that it won't be contaminated.
07:13We have a question from the GMA News Desk.
07:16Are there any patients brought to San Lazaro Hospital due to Q fever?
07:22So far, last Friday, we were informed that patients will be brought,
07:28but we were ready for that.
07:30But no one came.
07:32Okay, so there are no patients brought to San Lazaro because of Q fever?
07:39Zero?
07:40So far, no.
07:41Zero.
07:42How about other hospitals, Doctor?
07:44So far, we haven't heard anything.
07:47Because usually, when it's this kind of infection,
07:50the referral hospital is either RITM or San Lazaro Hospital
07:54because of our capacity.
07:57We have good isolation rooms.
08:00We've also experienced COVID.
08:02So far, when it's this kind of emerging and re-emerging infections,
08:08we haven't seen anyone brought.
08:11So there are no patients brought to RITM?
08:14I think so.
08:16Usually, we talk with each other about what to do
08:21and what steps to take.
08:23The Department of Health should know if there are patients brought.
08:26Okay, thank you very much for your time,
08:29Dr. Ront Ginzulante, Infectious Diseases Expert and President of the Philippine College of Physicians.