Q-VAX vaccine is the only human vaccine against Q fever currently available in the world and is only available in Australia. The vaccine arose from a fruitful partnership between an American microbiologist, Richard Ormsbee, and an Australian infectious diseases doctor, Barrie Marmion. The vaccine was made in Australia from seed stock ofCoxiella burnetii, originally isolated from an American soldier in Italy, the Henzerling strain. The vaccine was manufactured by a then Australian government-owned company, the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories, in Melbourne, using embryonated chicken eggs, starting in 1981. It was shown to be effective and relatively safe and became available for general use in 1989. It was originally used to reduce the incidence of Q fever in Australian abattoir workers but is now used (albeit underutilized) by many other occupational groups, especially in rural and regional parts of Australia. The vaccine is highly effective with over 95% efficacy, and its protective effect appears to last for many years. However, its use can lead to side effects in persons who have already been exposed to the bacterium. This has limited its use worldwide. The vaccine is currently used in Australia and, although significantly underutilized due to the need to pretest persons before vaccination, is playing a key role in reducing the incidence of Q fever in groups of Australians at risk.