An outbreak of “parrot fever” across Europe took 5 lives.

“Parrot Fever”

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Tuesday that a bacterial ailment called psittacosis, commonly referred to as parrot fever, had killed a number of humans in different European nations.

The outbreak persisted into the beginning of this year after it was first discovered in 2023. There have been five documented deaths.

Bacteria belonging to the Chlamydia family, which are present in wild and domestic birds and poultry, are the cause of parrot fever. Even though they don’t often appear ill, infected birds excrete the bacteria through their breath or feces.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that dust from an infected bird’s secretions is a typical way for humans to contract parrot fever. Additionally, a bird bite or beak-to-mouth contact can infect humans. No animal may contract the disease by eating another that is affected.

Studies indicate that human-to-human transmission is unlikely but not impossible. According to WHO, humans have been exposed to sick domestic or wild birds in the majority of the recent cases.

Most cases of parrot fever are caused by a mild sickness that manifests five to fourteen days after contact with an infected bird. Symptoms may include chills, fever, headache, muscle aches, and dry cough. The infection is treatable with antibiotics, and it seldom kills anyone.

As of March 4, Austria, which usually reports two instances of this disease annually, has 14 confirmed cases in 2023 and four more this year. None of the people reported visiting other countries or coming into contact with wild birds, and the instances are unrelated.

In Denmark, there are usually 15 to 30 human cases per year, with the majority resulting from contact with hobby or pet birds, such as racing pigeons.

As of February 27, there were 23 reported instances of this outbreak; however, public health officials there believe that the real number of cases is significantly higher, according to the WHO (World Health Organization).

Four of those Danish cases resulted in death, and 17 hospitalized, with 15 suffering from pneumonia.

Parrot fever was contracted by at least one person in Denmark via a pet bird. Twelve of the fifteen additional instances for whose exposure data was available claimed to have come into touch with wild birds mostly via bird feeders. The patients in three of the cases had no prior experience with birds of any type.

In 2023, there were 14 confirmed cases of parrot sickness in Germany. This year, there have been an additional five. 16 of the individuals were hospitalized and nearly all of them got pneumonia.

Five of the 19 cases in Germany involved contact with sick pet hens or birds.

Since 2017, there has been a rise in parrot fever incidents in Sweden.

With 26 instances documented in late November and early December, it was an exceptionally high amount. This year’s total of 13 instances is less than the total number of cases recorded for the same period of time in the previous 5 years.

The WHO reported that the number of cases in the Netherlands has also increased, with 21 cases from late December to February 29—twice as many as in previous years. That nation typically experiences nine incidents annually.

In the most recent Dutch occurrences, one individual passed away and all of the victims were hospitalized. 6 reported coming into contact with the droppings of wild birds, 7 with those of domestic birds, and 8 with no contact at all with birds.

WHO stated that it and the impacted nations will keep an eye on the outbreak.

The group is advising medical professionals to be alert for the virus and cautioning workers who frequently handle birds as well as owners of pets to practice excellent hand hygiene.

According to the WHO, owners of pet birds should take care to maintain clean cages and refrain from overcrowding.

4 cases of psittacosis in England in 2023 that have been laboratory confirmed are shown in the most recent UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) data.

Because they are a common family pet and the only wild parrot species in the UK, parakeets may be especially dangerous in Britain.

Scientists have long expressed concern over the increasing population of rose-ringed parakeets, which are mostly found in suburban areas and especially in gardens and parks in leafy south-east England.

What signs and symptoms come with psittacosis?

Psittacosis typically manifests as a moderate sickness with symptoms such as chills, fever, headache, muscle aches, and dry cough. Most patients start showing symptoms 5 to 14 days after being exposed to the pathogen.

How does psittacosis get treated?

Antibiotic therapy started as soon as possible works well and helps prevent problems like pneumonia. Less than 1 in 100 instances of psittacosis result in death when treated with the right antibiotics.

The WHO further said that in the relevant nations, human psittacosis is a disease that must be reported. It stated that epidemiological studies were conducted to find possible exposure and case clusters.

In order to confirm the prevalence of C. psittacosis among wild birds, laboratory examination of samples from wild birds submitted for avian influenza testing is one of the many ways that national surveillance systems are actively monitoring the situation.

Overall, the WHO European region observed an odd and unanticipated rise in C. psittacosis case reports from five countries. There were reports of fatal instances as well as cases that progressed to pneumonia and required hospitalization.

“There is currently no evidence that this disease is being transferred by humans, either domestically or globally, even if birds that carry it may be crossing international borders. There is little chance of the disease spreading from person to person because most persons do not transfer the psittacosis-causing bacteria to others. Antibiotics can be used to treat this pathogen if it is accurately diagnosed, the statement said.

WHO said that it is keeping an eye on the issue and that, given the facts at hand, it believes there is little risk associated with this incident.

How can the spread of psittacosis be stopped and controlled?

The following actions are advised by WHO to prevent and control psittacosis:

• Increasing physicians’ knowledge of the importance of RT-PCR testing for C. Psittacosis diagnosis in suspected patients.
• Increasing awareness that the disease can be carried by domestic or caged bird owners, particularly those of Psittacosis , even in the absence of symptoms.
• keeping new birds in quarantine. Get in touch with the veterinarian for a checkup and treatment if any of your birds are sick.
• Monitoring wild bird populations for C. Psittacosis , possibly using specimens already in existence that were gathered for other purposes.
• Encouraging owners of pet birds to avoid overcrowding their cages, maintain clean cages, and arrange their cages so that droppings cannot get between them.
• Promoting the use of clean hands when handling birds, their droppings, and their surroundings.
• For patients who are hospitalized, standard infection-control procedures and measures against droplet transmission should be followed.