Abstract
Psittacosis ( ornithosis) in man is usually an acute, generalized infectious disease clinically manifest as a transient, influenzalike illness, or as more serious pneumonic disease with high fever, chills, severe headache, nausea and vomiting, non-productive cough, chest pains, pulmonary infiltrates, myalgias and malaise. Some infections may be asymptomatic, while others may be complicated by encephalitis, pericarditis, myocarditis, endocarditis, or death. In humans, the incubation period is 4-15 days, and infection is usually acquired by inhalation of dust from the droppings of infected birds. The causative agent, Chlamydia psittaci, is an obligate intracellular parasite demonstrable by Giemsa or fluorescent antibody strains. However, diagnosis is best established by demonstrating a significant rise in complement-fixing antibodies. Patients should be treated with tetracycline (1 gm/day x 21 days) to achieve cure and prevent relapse. In California, human disease is primarily associated with psittacine birds (parrots, parakeets, cockatoos, cockatiels) kept as pets or with domestic and wild pigeons and doves.
California is experiencing a substantial increase in the number of laboratory confirmed cases of psittacosis in pet birds reported by veterinary diagnostic laboratories throughout the State. Since July 1975, to date, approximately 100 cases of psittacosis in pet birds have been reported to the Department of Health. These avian cases were located in private homes, private aviaries, pet shops, wholesale pet dealers and commercial breeders. Some avian cases were detected from the investigation of human illness, but most were diagnosed because of iolness in the birds. Over 50 percent of the infected birds were parrots; the other species of ill psittacine birds included cockatiels, lovebirds, parakeets, budgerigars and pigeons arid doves.
The increased number of infected birds has been paralleled by increased number of laboratory confirmed human cases of psittacosis. In 1976, 14 human cases were reported, and in 1975, 24. By contrast, during the decade 1965-1974, an average of 8 cases were reported annually.
Psittacosis in birds can be eliminated by the proper use of chlortetracycline (CTC) in the feed. No vaccine is available. To minimize the hazard of diseases in imported birds, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) requires that all imported birds be held in approved quarantine stations for 30 days and that all psittacine birds be fed adequate levels of chlortetracycline during the quarantine period. However, more effective control is needed to insure that birds receive adequate levels of CTC in their feed while quarantined, because....