Q fever
An infectious disease due to the bacterium Coxiella burnetii whose symptoms include fever, headache, malaise, and pneumonia (interstitial pneumonitis), but not rash. The Q stands for query because the cause of the disease was long a question mark. Q fever is a zoonotic disease and is contracted from cattle, sheep, and goats. Chronic Q fever (infection that persists for more than 6 months) may develop years after the initial infection and can lead to serious complications including endocarditis. Transplant recipients, patients with cancer, and patients with chronic kidney disease are at increased risk of developing chronic Q fever.
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- Q bands
A form of chromosome band, one of the bright and dull fluorescent bands seen alternating along the length of chromosomes under ultraviolet light after the chromosomes are stained with quinacrine. The Q in Q band stands for Quinacrine, an agent used as an antimalarial agent and, in the laboratory, as a fluorescent dye.
- q arm of a chromosome
The symbol “p” was chosen to designate the short arm because “p” stands for “petit”, “small” in French. The letter “q” was selected to signify the long arm merely because “q” is the next letter in the alphabet.
- Rabbit fever
An infection in rabbits and other wild rodents caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis that can be transmitted to humans by contact with infected animal tissues or ticks. Also called tularemia. The main mode of transmission to humans is tick bites in the summer and exposure to rabbits in the fall and winter during the […]
- Rabies
A potentially fatal viral infection that attacks the central nervous system. Rabies is carried by wild animals (particularly bats and raccoons) and finds its way to humans by many routes. Most cases of rabies can be traced to animal bites, but cases have been documented in which the virus was inhaled in bat caves, contracted […]
- Raccoon roundworm infection
Infection by the raccoon roundworm is also called Baylisascaris. The species commonly found in raccoonsis Baylisascaris procyonis. When infective eggs of this roundworm are ingested by humans, Baylisascaris larvae hatch in the intestine and travel through the organs and muscles. This is the larva migrans syndrome. Infected raccoons shed millions of eggs in their feces. […]