Serotesting of human Q fever distribution in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Q fever is a zoonotic disease with worldwide distribution. It occurs in different geographic regions and climate zones. From 1990 till the end of 1997, only three infected individuals were registered in Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the year 1991, with the incidence of 0.05% 000. From 1996 onward, there was a sudden aggravation of epizoological and epidemiological situation in particular regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We performed serotesting during the 4-year period from 2000 to 2003. We tested serum samples from 708 individuals from different regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Q fever was serologically diagnosed in 249 individuals. The overall seroprevalence was 35.2%. The acute disease form was confirmed in 79.9% of the whole seropositive sample. Most of the Q seropositive individuals were from Kakanj (17.3%), Mostar (15.3%), Sarajevo (12.5%), Bihać (9.6%), Zenica (9.2%), Gornji Vakuf (8.9%), Tesanj (4.4%), Visoko (2.8%), and Travnik (2.4%). The number and distribution of seropositive individuals suggests that Q fever is endemic in Bosnia and Herzegovina.