The following symptoms and complaints may indicate Q fever:
Initial symptoms
- High fever (- 40 °C).
- Chills
- Dry cough
- Myalgia (muscle pain)
- Limb pain
- Headache, especially in the forehead
Symptoms occurring during the course
- Hepatitis (inflammation of the liver), granulomatous.
- Icterus (jaundice) (rare).
- Meningoencephalitis (combined inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) and meninges (meningitis)), aseptic; possibly with retrobulbar headache (intensification with increase in intracranial pressure and eye movements), aphasia (speech disorders), hemiparesis (hemiplegia), confusion, and visual disturbances
- Cardiac involvement – myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle), pericarditis (inflammation of the pericardium); the most common and dangerous late complication is endocarditis (inflammation of the inner lining of the heart)
- Pneumonia (pneumonia), atypical.
- Gastrointestinal discomfort (gastrointestinal symptoms) (rare).
- Splenomegaly (enlargement of the spleen)
- Pregnancy: abortion (miscarriage), premature birth, decreased birth weight.
Approximately half of infections are asymptomatic or with mild flu-like symptoms that resolve spontaneously.
