High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Q fever is a disease caused by infection with Coxiella burnetii, a bacterium that affects humans and other animals. This organism is uncommon but may be found in cattle, sheep, goats and other domestic mammals, including cats and dogs. The infection results from inhalation of a spore-like small cell variant, and from contact with the milk, urine, feces, vaginal mucus, or semen of infected animals. Rarely, the disease is tick borne. The incubation period is 9–40 days. A human being can be infected by a single bacterium. The bacterium is an obligate intracellular pathogen.