Video:Psittacosis

Psittacosis (Tutorial)
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Description

Psittacosis —also known as parrot fever, and ornithosis—is a zoonotic infectious disease in humans caused by a bacterium called Chlamydia psittaci and contracted from infected parrots, such as macaws, cockatiels, and budgerigars, and from pigeons, sparrows, ducks, hens, gulls and many other species of birds.In certain contexts, the word is used when the disease is carried by any species of birds belonging to the family Psittacidae, whereas ornithosis is used when other birds carry the disease.In humans doxycycline may be used for treatment

Presentation

Among the possible symptoms an individual may have are:fever, chills, headache, and cough.

Complications

In terms of the possible complications an individual with Psittacosis may develop we find: endocarditis, myocarditis, DIC, meningoencephalitis, and hepatitis.

Cause

C. psittaci is an intracellular pathogen and has thus undergone significant genome reduction. Most C. psittaci genomes encode between 1 thousand and 14 hundred proteins.A total of 911 core genes were found to be present in all 20 strains sequenced by Read et al., corresponding to 90 percent of the genes present in each genome.

Mechanism

In terms of the pathophysiology we find that once C. psittaci infection happens, it does so in the alveolar epithelial cells. This in turn causes influx of neutrophils, which is thought to be due to release of chemokines. An eventual inflammatory cascade promotes from the bloodstream accumulation of phagocytes and immune cells to the infection. Finally, this process causes tissue damage and disruption of alveolar-capillary membrane.

Diagnosis

As to the diagnosis we find that it may be done via:blood tests, chest X-rays, culture and PCR test.

Differential diagnosis

As to the differential diagnosis we find the following should be considered: Legionella pneumonia, Tularemia, influenza, Q fever, Typhoid fever, bacterial pneumonia and viral pneumonia.

Treatment

The infection is treated with antibiotics; tetracyclines and chloramphenicol are the choice for treating patients. Most people respond to oral therapy doxycycline, tetracycline hydrochloride, or chloramphenicol palmitate.

Epidemiology

Psittacosis was first reported in Europe in 1879.In 1929, a highly publicized outbreak of psittacosis hit the United States. Although not the first report of psittacosis in the United States, it was the largest up to that time. It led to greater controls on the import of pet parrots. The aftermath of the outbreak and how it was handled led to the establishment of the National Institutes of Health.

History

As to history we find that Psittacosis was first described by French bacteriologist Morange in 1892. Dr. Charles Armstrong was a epidemiologist and virologist who made many contributions to public health, including his work on psittacosis.In the 1920s, Dr. Armstrong played a important role in investigating and controlling a major outbreak of psittacosis in the U.S., which helped to identify the disease and create measures to prevent its spread.

Other animals

In birds, Chlamydia psittaci infection is referred to as avian chlamydiosis. Infected birds shed the bacteria through feces and nasal discharges, which can remain infectious for several months. Many strains remain quiescent in birds until activated under stress. Birds are excellent, highly mobile vectors for the distribution of chlamydial infection because they feed on, and have access to, the detritus of infected animals of all sorts.C. psittaci in birds is often systemic and infections can be inapparent, severe, acute, or chronic with intermittent shedding.