Adolescents aged ≥15 years and adults who are at risk of infection with Coxiella burnettii are recommended to receive Q fever vaccine
Q fever vaccine is recommended for people aged ≥15 years who are at risk of infection with C. burnetii and have not had previous Q fever infection or vaccination.
Pre-vaccination testing is needed before vaccination.
People at risk of Q fever include:
- abattoir workers
- farmers
- stockyard workers
- shearers
- animal transporters (of high-risk animals such as cattle, camels, sheep, goats and kangaroos)
- veterinarians, veterinary nurses and veterinary students
- professional dog and cat breeders
- pet food manufacturing workers
- agricultural college staff and students
- wildlife and zoo workers who work with high-risk animals, including kangaroos and bandicoots
- animal refuge workers (including those working in animal shelters and boarding facilities)
- people who cull or process kangaroos or camels
- laboratory workers who handle veterinary specimens or work with C. burnetii
- other people exposed to high-risk animals, particularly cattle, camels, sheep, goats and kangaroos (including their products of conception, such as placental tissue and birth fluids)
See also Recommended vaccines for people at increased risk of certain occupationally acquired vaccine-preventable diseases, in Vaccination for people at occupational risk.
Q fever vaccine is not recommended for children aged <15 years. No data are available on the safety or efficacy of Q fever vaccine in this age group.
Booster doses of Q fever vaccine are not recommended. This is because:
- vaccine immunity appears to last at least 5 years
- there is a risk of serious local adverse events in people with pre-existing immunity to C. burnetii
Related diseases
Page history
Last updated
Last reviewed