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Inflammatory, Hypersensitivity and Immune Lung Diseases, including Parasitic Diseases.
Published in Fred W Wright, Radiology of the Chest and Related Conditions, 2022
Psittacosis - (due to Chlamydia psittaci - an intracellular organism found in parrots, parakeets, macaws, cockatiels and to a lesser extent in budgerigars, pigeons and other birds, including poultry) may give rise to a wide spectrum of illness, ranging from a mild 'flu-like condition to a severe pneumonia with acute respiratory distress and multiple organ involvement. Patients typically have fever, headache, a dry cough and myalgia. Radiologically there are often 'soft' patchy lung infiltrates, but miliary changes and lobar pneumonia (sometimes without sparing of a segment, which is more often seen in bacterial types) may be found. Often the radiological changes are much greater than are suggested by physical signs, and they may take several weeks to clear.
The respiratory system
Published in C. Simon Herrington, Muir's Textbook of Pathology, 2020
Chlamydia spp. are Gram-negative bacteria. C. pneumoniae is a common cause of pneumonia. The infection may present as pharyngitis, with pneumonia occurring several weeks later. The pneumonia is mild, except in elderly people, with fever, cough, and crackles. The pathology is ill described because there have been few deaths or biopsies. Diagnosis is made serologically or by specific monoclonal antibody. C. psittaci causes psittacosis/ornithosis, which is highly infectious, transmitted by aerosol or by the direct handling of infected bird tissues. Budgerigars, pigeons, and many species of wild birds carry the organism. It causes cough, sputum, chest pain, dyspnoea, haemoptysis and fever, and lower lobe consolidation. The bronchial and bronchiolar epithelia show desquamation, necrosis, and lymphocytic inflammation. Alveolar cells show intracytoplasmic inclusions. Diagnosis is made by an ELISA (enzyme-linked immunofluorescence assay) test or by serology. C. trachomatis causes oculogenital infections and is a rare cause of neonatal pneumonia.
B
Published in Anton Sebastian, A Dictionary of the History of Medicine, 2018
Bedson, Sir Phillipe Samuel (1886–1969) Professor of bacteriology at the University of London. He devised a laboratory diagnosis for lymphogranuloma venereum through skin testing with an antigen in 1936. He produced conclusive evidence for the etiological agent of psittacosis.
Human psittacosis: a review with emphasis on surveillance in Belgium
Published in Acta Clinica Belgica, 2020
Joanna Rybarczyk, Charlot Versteele, Tinne Lernout, Daisy Vanrompay
Avian chlamydiosis caused by Chlamydia psittaci is known for centuries. C. psittaci infections are widespread throughout the world and caused by an obligate intracellular gram-negative bacterium having a unique reproduction cycle. C. psittaci reveals two predominant morphological life forms, a metabolically inactive, infectious form, the elementary body; and a metabolically active, noninfectious form, the reticulate body. C. psittaci is causing a zoonotic disease, named psittacosis or parrot fever in humans. However, the latter name might be misleading as, based on results of isolation, antigen detection and serology, C. psittaci can infect more than 450 bird species from at least 30 different orders [1]. The avian host range is probably even broader when diagnosis is made by PCR, a more sensitive and specific diagnostic technique that has replaced culture as the gold standard for Chlamydia diagnosis. In birds, C. psittaci infections are often systemic and can display unapparent, severe, acute or chronic manifestations [1,2]. Primary replication in birds starts in mucosal epithelial cells and macrophages of the respiratory tract, after which the pathogen causes septicemia and replication in epithelial cells and parenchymatous tissues throughout the body [3]. In humans, infection most commonly occurs in persons with a history of contact with birds in either the setting of occupational or companion bird exposure. This paper presents an overview on human psittacosis caused by C. psittaci, focusing on recent findings and on psittacosis surveillance in Belgium.
Chlamydophila psittaci pneumonia associated to exposure to fulmar birds (Fulmaris glacialis) in the Faroe Islands
Published in Infectious Diseases, 2018
Marian Elsubeth Fossádal, Mansour Grand, Shahin Gaini
Psittacosis is a zoonotic disease caused by the obligate intracellular bacterium Chlamydophila psittaci (CP) [1,2]. In humans, this pathogen can cause systemic illness but mostly presents with flu-like symptoms which later may be complicated with atypical pneumonia [2]. Many infected humans have a mild self limiting illness [2].