In the first quarter of 2026, the province will announce who will be the ‘quartermaster’ around a Brabant expertise center for Q fever. Henk van Roosmalen contracted Q fever thirteen years ago and would like to see such a health center opened. “We shouldn’t look away until that bacteria might come back,” he says.
The Provincial Executive announced at the beginning of November that it was seriously considering contributing financially to a Brabant Q fever center. Then it was discussed to have this landed in the Bernhoven Hospital in Uden.
A ‘quartermaster’ must further roll out the plans. Who will take on this role may be announced in the first part of next year, a provincial spokesperson said.
Q fever has received more attention lately. A Q fever ambassador was appointed in September and a minister spoke to Q fever patients for the first time in November. The Health Council also published a new report last week showing that people who live near a goat farm are more likely to develop pneumonia.
What is Q fever?
Q fever is a disease caused by the bacterium Coxiella burnetii, which is mainly transmitted by goats and sheep. Some patients have suffered long-term complaints from this, such as fatigue.
The Q fever outbreak started in 2007 around Herpen. The GGD Hart voor Brabant then received 137 reports of the disease. In 2008, this increased to 711 reports of Q fever, reports the RIVM. Brabant was hit hard at the time.
‘Not recognized in the Netherlands’
Van Roosmalen from Schijndel also belongs to that group. He says he was infected in the Netherlands thirteen years ago. He still remembers as if it were yesterday that he ended up in hospital during his holiday in Spain. “After three days they realized it was Q fever. That was diagnosed fairly quickly. They had everything ready there.”
Things were different back then in the Netherlands, that was his experience. “The disease was not recognized and not recognized here. The Netherlands lagged behind by looking away,” he reflects.
Times are changing?
With the plans for an expertise center, times seem to be changing somewhat. Van Roosmalen thinks that is a positive thing. “It’s better now. At the time it was swept under the rug,” said Van Roosmalen.
He says that his memory still sometimes fails him today. Previously, his Q fever complaints were worse, which forced him to leave his job as a councilor in Sint-Michielsgestel and as director of an educational institution. “It has had an impact on me.”
According to him, the arrival of a Brabant expertise center would provide relief for Q fever patients. “Such an expertise center can refer you to good specialists. Good people to get you fit again or keep you fit. I’m thinking of physiotherapy. A bit of psychology should also not be missing. People can be really down.”
Patients guided
He himself says that he also benefited from such therapies at the time. These were then arranged through Q-support, an organization that advises and supports patients. Between 2014 and 2020 he also guided Q fever patients there.
Van Roosmalen sincerely hopes that a Brabant health center will soon be established. Also to offer Q fever patients perspective. “We have to keep the iron hot. That’s all I wish.”
According to him, this would also provide some preparation for the future. “We should not look away until that bacteria might come back. And if it does come back, we must be ready. That the disaster from 2007 to 2015 does not come back again.”
At the moment, the government only wants to support university hospitals outside Brabant. The provincial council does not want to leave it at that and is now committed to its own center. The province must work together with the Ministry of Health, municipalities, health insurers and healthcare institutions to jointly set up this plan.