Psittacosis Treatments

Psittacosis is an incredibly rare infectious disease caused by the bacterium chlamydia psittaci. It is transmitted to humans via the inhalation of dried-up bird excrement, typically that of pet birds (such as parrots and parakeets) and poultry, though all birds can carry the bacterium. The incubation period is typically five to 14 days, and while treatment is simple, a psittacosis infection can lead to death if left untreated.

Symptoms and Diagnosis

• Symptoms in birds depend on the strain that has infected the animal, as well as a variety of other factors such as age, species and the health of its immune system. In humans, the symptoms are similar to those associated with the flu and include fever, chills, headache, dry cough, muscle aches, shortness of breath and occasionally pneumonia.
  A stethoscope is used on the chest to listen for decreased breath and abnormal lung sounds. Tests to diagnose psittacosis include blood and sputum cultures and blood gases, a CT scan or X-ray of the chest, and an antibody titer (a measure of concentration).

Treatment

• As psittacosis is a bacterial infection, treatment involves administering antibiotics such as azithromycin, tetracycline, rifampin and erithromycin. The use of tetracycline by children whose permanent teeth have not yet fully grown is not recommended, as tetracycline taken orally can stain and discolor teeth that are still in the formation stages.
  When taken properly, antibiotics are almost always successful. If left untreated, complications can occur such as inflammation of the liver, heart valve infection, decreased lung function as a side effect of the pneumonia, and possible neurological damage. Though rarely fatal, if left untreated in older individuals it can result in death.

Additional Information

• Psittacosis goes by a number of alternative, more colloquial names that reflect its avian and bacterial origins: chlamydiosis, ornithosis and parrot fever.
  The infection made an appearance in an episode of the television show "House M.D.," in which a patient is discovered to have psittacosis after falling off the roof of a house he is working on.