Psittacosis in Humans: A Rare Bird-Borne Infection Unmasked by mNGS

49-year-old Master nicky went to the hospital for treatment due to persistent high fever, severe cough, chest tightness and shortness of breath. Surprisingly, in just 6 days, this seemingly ordinary fever caused Master Yao’s condition to deteriorate dramatically. In a critical moment, the doctor finds a key clue by carefully questioning the medical history: Master Yao had kept homing pigeons in his home. Combined with its characteristics of acute onset, high fever, rapid progression of respiratory failure, and low white blood cell indicators but soaring inflammatory indicators, doctors highly suspect that it has psittacosis.

The sputum of the patient was detected by metagenomic sequencing (mNGS) technology, which revealed that Chlamydia psittaci was positive. After treatment, Master Yao’s symptoms such as high fever and difficulty breathing were significantly relieved, and his inflammatory indicators dropped significantly, and he eventually recovered and was discharged. It is gratifying to note that a review after half a year showed that the severe lesions in Master Yao’s lungs had been completely absorbed.

What’s Psittacosis

Psittacosis is an acute infectious disease caused by infection with Chlamydia psittaci. The disease is mainly spread among parrots and other birds, and is mostly asymptomatic after infection. Psittacosis can also be transmitted to people. Most people will show atypical pathogen pneumonia after infection, and it can also be asymptomatic or fatal infection.

For psittacosis, pre-morbidity exposure to birds such as parrots, pigeons, or their secretions is an important clue, but is easily ignored. Detailed collection of medical history (especially bird contact history), combined with careful physical examination, and timely use of advanced pathogen detection technologies such as mNGS when necessary, are important means to accurately diagnose critical infections and save patients’ lives.

Bird lovers should take precautions

Here we remind bird owners and bird lovers to take protective measures.

First, when touching birds or cleaning birdcages, be sure to wear N95 masks and gloves and wash your hands thoroughly afterwards.

Second, keep the birdcage clean and the environment ventilated, reducing dust, feather, etc. inhalation.

Thirdly, newly acquired birds are subject to isolation and observation.

Fourthly, once a sick bird is found, take it to a doctor promptly and avoid close contact.

Disclaimer: All photos used in this blog are generated by artificial intelligence (AI). These images are original creations produced by AI technology and do not depict real people, places, or events. They are provided for illustrative purposes only and cannot be claimed or used as real photographs.