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Review
. 2023 Sep 15;12(9):1165.
doi: 10.3390/pathogens12091165.

Psittacosis: An Underappreciated and Often Undiagnosed Disease

Zygmunt F Dembek  1 , Jerry L Mothershead  2 , Akeisha N Owens  3 , Tesema Chekol  1 , Aiguo Wu  3
Affiliations
Review

Psittacosis: An Underappreciated and Often Undiagnosed Disease

Zygmunt F Dembek et al. Pathogens. .

Abstract

The bacterial agent Chlamydia psittaci, and the resulting disease of psittacosis, is a little-known and underappreciated infectious disease by healthcare practitioners and in public health in general. C. psittaci infections can cause significant psittacosis outbreaks, with person-to-person transmission documented in the last decade. In this publication, we review the pathogen and its disease, as well as examine the potential for genetic manipulation in this organism to create a more deadly pathogen. Recent disease surveys indicate that currently, the highest incidences of human disease exist in Australia, Germany and the UK. We recommend the universal public health reporting of C. psittaci and psittacosis disease and increasing the promotion of public health awareness.

Keywords: Category B pathogen; Chlamydia psittaci; chlamydia; psittacosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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