Q fever outbreak in the Chamonix Valley, France, summer 2002

At the end of July 2002, the Direction Départementale des Affaires Sanitaires et Sociales (DDASS) was informed of several dozen patients who had consulted their general practitioners (GPs) in Chamonix with fever, myalgia, and severe headaches. Most of the patients had serum transaminases 2-3 times above normal level. Most patients recovered spontaneously after 5-10 days. Several patients were hospitalised.