Coxiella burnetii

1 9.8

A type of bacteria that causes Q fever in people and animals

noun

Specialized

: Coxiella burnetii

Coxiella burnetii is the bacterium responsible for causing Q fever in both humans and animals.

Examples

Q fever is an occupational zoonosis caused by Coxiella burnetii, a gram-negative bacterium (1).

Academic text (2014)
Multivariate logistic regression analysis of participant-based characteristics associated with Coxiella burnetii positivity among dairy cattle farm residents, the Netherlands, September 2010-March 2011.

Academic text (2014)
People working with livestock are at a higher risk of exposure to Coxiella burnetii, which can lead to serious health issues.
The study focused on the transmission of Coxiella burnetii in rural areas, highlighting its role in infectious diseases.

Surface Forms

Coxiella burnetii singular

Morphology

Coxiella + burnetii

This is a Latin binomial scientific name whose parts are not ordinary English words and provide no transparent cue to the meaning 'a bacterium that causes Q fever.' Even if a learner recognized the two-token genus–species pattern, the disease association and taxonomic identity are domain-specific and cannot be derived from the constituents by a B1 learner. Therefore the expression is idiomatic/terminological and not compositional for general learners.

Etymology

Coxiella burnetii is named after two scientists. The first word, Coxiella, honors Cox, and the second word, burnetii, honors Burnet, so the name reminds us it is the bacterium 'that causes Q fever'.