Undiagnosed Cases of Human Pneumonia Following Exposure to Chlamydia psittaci from an Infected Rosella Parrot

Anne-Lise Chaber; Martina Jelocnik; Lucy Woolford

doi:10.3390/pathogens10080968

Back

Undiagnosed Cases of Human Pneumonia Following Exposure to Chlamydia psittaci from an Infected Rosella Parrot

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Undiagnosed Cases of Human Pneumonia Following Exposure to Chlamydia psittaci from an Infected Rosella Parrot

Anne-Lise Chaber, Martina Jelocnik and Lucy Woolford

Pathogens, Vol.10(8), pp.1-8

2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10080968

PMCID: PMC8399200

PMID: 34451432

Files and links (2)

pdf

Undiagnosed Cases of Human Pneumonia Following Exposure to Chlamydia psittaci from an Infected Rosella Parrot2.54 MBDownload View

Published Version Open Access CC BY V4.0

url

https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10080968View

Published Version Open

Abstract

Chlamydia psittaci

parrots

psittacosis

underdiagnosis

wild birds

Australia

This report describes two cases of occupational exposure to Chlamydia psittaci following dissection of an infected Rosella (Platycercus elegans). The C. psittaci infections (with one of them resulting in diagnosed pneumonia and hospitalisation) were undiagnosed during routine medical investigations but later established due to epidemiological and clinical evidence, and molecular testing of the archived Rosella’ specimens. This case report stresses the importance of correct application and interpretation of diagnostic tests and the need to raise awareness about this zoonotic pathogen among medical practitioners and people exposed to potential animal carriers. Our findings suggest other infected individuals might be misdiagnosed and that C. psittaci (psittacosis) is likely to be underreported in Australia. This case highlights the need to operationalise the One Health concept. We call for improved communication between human and animal health service providers to allow accurate and rapid diagnosis of this zoonotic disease and raised awareness among medical practitioners. Further targeted surveys of wild birds (and other animals) should be conducted to improve assessment of risks to the general population and people working with or exposed to wild birds.

Details

Title: Undiagnosed Cases of Human Pneumonia Following Exposure to Chlamydia psittaci from an Infected Rosella Parrot
Authors: Anne-Lise Chaber (Author) - The University of Adelaide
Martina Jelocnik (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, GeneCology Research Centre - Legacy
Lucy Woolford (Author) - The University of Adelaide
Publication details: Pathogens, Vol.10(8), pp.1-8
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date published: 2021
DOI: 10.3390/pathogens10080968
ISSN: 2076-0817
PMID: 34451432; PMC8399200
Copyright note: Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Data Availability: The MLST and ompA sequences from this study were deposited in the Chlamydiales PubMLST database and Genbank. The Genbank accession number is: Adel_Rosella_ompA MZ298912.
Grants: On the brink of infectious disease spill-over: From parrots to horses to humans, DE190100238, Australian Research Council (Australia, Canberra) - ARC
Organisation Unit: School of Science, Technology and Engineering; Centre for Bioinnovation
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99569608802621
Output Type: Journal article

Metrics

69 Record Views

14 Times Cited - Web of Science

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: SDGs from InCites