Chlamydia psittaci – don’t be embarrassed

Chlamydia psittaci, a Gram-negative obligate intracellular bacterium, is an avian pathogen that infects birds globally. The organism may undergo successful cross-host transmission to a number of mammalian hosts, resulting in sporadic infection in other species including sheep, goats, cattle, horses and cats. Infection with C. psittaci has been associated with abortion, pneumonia, polyarthritis and conjunctivitis. In humans, infection with C. psittaci typically results from direct contact with birds (most commonly parrots) or bird excreta and causes a systemic infectious disease, psittacosis, which is characterised by fever, atypical pneumonia, malaise and myalgia. Furthermore, complications of psittacosis may develop in humans, including myocarditis, endocarditis, hepatitis, reactive arthritis and neurological disease ...