Journal article
Australian human and parrot Chlamydia psittaci strains cluster within the highly virulent 6BC clade of this important zoonotic pathogen
Scientific Reports, Vol.6(4), 30019
2016
Abstract
Chlamydia psittaci is an avian pathogen and zoonotic agent of atypical pneumonia. The most pathogenic C. psittaci strains cluster into the 6BC clade, predicted to have recently emerged globally. Exposure to infected parrots is a risk factor with limited evidence also of an indirect exposure risk. Genome sequencing was performed on six Australian human and a single avian C. psittaci strain isolated over a 9 year period. Only one of the five human patients had explicit psittacine contact. Genomics analyses revealed that the Australian C. psittaci strains are remarkably similar, clustering tightly within the C. psittaci 6BC clade suggested to have been disseminated by South America parrot importation. Molecular clock analysis using the newly sequenced C. psittaci genomes predicted the emergence of the 6BC clade occurring approximately 2,000 years ago. These findings reveal the potential for an Australian natural reservoir of C. psittaci 6BC strains. These strains can also be isolated from seriously ill patients without explicit psittacine contact. The apparent recent and global spread of C. psittaci 6BC strains raises important questions over how this happened. Further studies may reveal whether the dissemination of this important zoonotic pathogen is linked to Australian parrot importation rather than parrots from elsewhere.
Details
- Title
- Australian human and parrot Chlamydia psittaci strains cluster within the highly virulent 6BC clade of this important zoonotic pathogen
- Authors
- J Branley (Author) - Nepean Hospital PenrithNathan Bachmann (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and EngineeringMartina Jelocnik (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and EngineeringG S A Myers (Author) - University of Technology SydneyAdam Polkinghorne (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
- Publication details
- Scientific Reports, Vol.6(4), 30019; 8
- Publisher
- Nature Publishing Group
- Date published
- 2016
- DOI
- 10.1038/srep30019
- ISSN
- 2045-2322
- Copyright note
- Copyright © 2016 The Author. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
- Organisation Unit
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering; Centre for Bioinnovation
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99450525602621
- Output Type
- Journal article
Metrics
27 File views/ downloads
803 Record Views
InCites Highlights
These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output
- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web Of Science research areas
- Microbiology
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
Source: InCites