Editing Fever Q (section)

== Society and culture ==
An early mention of Q&nbsp;fever was important in one of the early [[Dr. Kildare]] films (1939, ''[[Calling Dr. Kildare]]''). Kildare's mentor Dr.&nbsp;Gillespie ([[Lionel Barrymore]]) tires of his protégé working fruitlessly on "exotic diagnoses" ("I think it's Q&nbsp;fever!") and sends him to work in a neighborhood clinic, instead.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.san.beck.org/MM/1939/CallingDrKildare.html|title=''Calling Dr.&nbsp;Kildare''|publisher=Movie Mirrors Index|access-date=30 April 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kalisch |first1=Philip A |last2=Kalisch |first2=Beatrice J |title=When Americans called for Dr. Kildare: images of physicians and nurses in the Dr. Kildare and Dr. Gillespie movies, 1937-1947 |journal=Medical Heritage |date=September 1985 |volume=1 |issue=5 |pages=348–363 |pmid=11616027 |url=http://www.truthaboutnursing.org/images/kalisch/when_americans_called_dr_kildare.pdf }}</ref>

Q&nbsp;fever was also highlighted in an episode of the U.S. television medical drama ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'' ("[[The Dig (House)|The&nbsp;Dig]]", season seven, episode&nbsp;18).{{cn|date=June 2021}}

=== Biological warfare ===
''C&nbsp; burnetii'' has been developed as a [[biological agent|biological weapon]].<ref name="pmid14592601">{{cite journal |vauthors=Madariaga MG, Rezai K, Trenholme GM, Weinstein RA |title=Q&nbsp;Fever: A biological weapon in your backyard |journal=Lancet Infect Dis |volume=3 |issue=11 |pages=709–21 |date=November 2003 |pmid=14592601 |doi= 10.1016/S1473-3099(03)00804-1}}</ref>

The United States investigated it as a potential biological warfare agent in the 1950s, with eventual standardization as agent&nbsp;OU. At Fort Detrick and Dugway Proving Ground, human trials were conducted on [[Operation Whitecoat|Whitecoat volunteers]] to determine the median infective dose (18&nbsp;MICLD<sub>50</sub>/person i.h.) and course of infection. The [[Deseret Test Center]] dispensed biological Agent&nbsp;OU with ships and aircraft, during [[Project 112]] and [[Project SHAD]].<ref name="Shady">[http://mcm.fhpr.osd.mil/Librries/CBexposuresDocs/shady_grove_revised.sflb.ashx Deseret Test Center, Project&nbsp;SHAD, Shady Grove revised fact sheet]{{Dead link|date=May 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>  As a standardized biological, it was manufactured in large quantities at [[Pine Bluff Arsenal]], with 5,098&nbsp;gallons in the arsenal in bulk at the time of demilitarization in 1970.

''C.&nbsp;burnetii'' is currently ranked as a "[[Bioterrorism#Types of agents|category&nbsp;B]]" [[bioterrorism]] agent by the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|CDC]].<ref name="pmid12704232">{{cite journal  |vauthors=Seshadri R, Paulsen IT, Eisen JA, etal |title=Complete genome sequence of the Q-fever pathogen Coxiella burnetii |journal=Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. |volume=100 |issue=9 |pages=5455–60 |date=April 2003 |pmid=12704232 |pmc=154366 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0931379100 |bibcode=2003PNAS..100.5455S }}</ref> It can be contagious, and is very stable in aerosols in a wide range of temperatures. Q&nbsp;fever microorganisms may survive on surfaces up to 60&nbsp;days. It is considered a good agent in part because its ID<sub>50</sub> (number of bacilli needed to infect 50% of individuals) is considered to be one, making it the lowest known.{{Dubious|date=July 2020|reason=The CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/qfever/transmission/index.html) states that in some cases, fewer than ten bacteria are enough to cause an infection. There is no source here backing up the claim that one is enough 50% of the time.}}