Editing Q fever (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|title=''Calling Dr.&nbsp;Kildare''|url=http://www.san.beck.org/MM/1939/CallingDrKildare.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204042757/http://www.san.beck.org/MM/1939/CallingDrKildare.html|archive-date=2012-02-04|access-date=30 April 2013|publisher=Movie Mirrors Index}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Kalisch PA, Kalisch BJ | 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 | volume = 1 | issue = 5 | pages = 348–363 | date = September 1985 | pmid = 11616027 | url = http://www.truthaboutnursing.org/images/kalisch/when_americans_called_dr_kildare.pdf | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101130235053/https://www.truthaboutnursing.org/images/kalisch/when_americans_called_dr_kildare.pdf | archive-date = 2010-11-30 }}</ref>

=== Biological warfare ===
''C.&nbsp;burnetii'' has been used to develop [[biological agent|biological weapon]]s.<ref name="pmid14592601">{{cite journal | vauthors = Madariaga MG, Rezai K, Trenholme GM, Weinstein RA | title = Q fever: a biological weapon in your backyard | journal = The Lancet. Infectious Diseases | volume = 3 | issue = 11 | pages = 709–721 | 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">{{Cite web|url=https://www.health.mil/Reference-Center/Fact-Sheets/2003/12/02/Shady-Grove-Revised|title=Deseret Test Center, Project&nbsp;SHAD, Shady Grove revised fact sheet}}</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.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

''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, Read TD, Nelson KE, Nelson WC, Ward NL, Tettelin H, Davidsen TM, Beanan MJ, Deboy RT, Daugherty SC, Brinkac LM, Madupu R, Dodson RJ, Khouri HM, Lee KH, Carty HA, Scanlan D, Heinzen RA, Thompson HA, Samuel JE, Fraser CM, Heidelberg JF | display-authors = 6 | title = Complete genome sequence of the Q-fever pathogen Coxiella burnetii | journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America | volume = 100 | issue = 9 | pages = 5455–5460 | date = April 2003 | pmid = 12704232 | pmc = 154366 | doi = 10.1073/pnas.0931379100 | bibcode = 2003PNAS..100.5455S | doi-access = free }}</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 for 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.}}