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Its first symptoms may suggest a severe cold or flu. Unfortunately, ornithosis is an infectious zoonotic disease. It is also called a parrot. Man can get infected from almost any species of birds.
The disease is caused by a microbe called Chlamydia psittaci, which is found in bird droppings, nasal secretions, tissues and feathers of birds. Birds that carry the bacteria do not show any symptoms of the disease. The infection usually occurs through the respiratory system when we inhale particles of dried bird’s faeces. Less often due to damaged skin. It is also possible to get infected from a sick person. It is worth adding that after this form of infection, the course of the disease is much more severe than in the case of infection from birds.
Ornithosis – The onset of the disease
The hatching period is on average 5 to 14 days. When Chlamydia enters the human body, it attaches to the epithelium of the respiratory tract and then spreads along with the blood to the reticuloendothelial system. There is a secondary infection. Gradually, the bacteria colonizes individual organs. Most often it settles in the lungs, but can also affect the heart, liver or central nervous system.
Symptoms of ornithosis
The course of the disease may vary. Usually, however, it is sharp and starts with a high temperature (over 40 years of age)0C) and strong chills. The disease is accompanied by a headache, tiring, initially dry cough. The patient feels pain in the chest when breathing. There may be some exudate in the pleural cavity. There are also cases of acute respiratory failure accompanied by ailments from the digestive, nervous and urinary systems.
There are two phases of the parrot.
Phase one – in this period, non-specific symptoms predominate, such as fever, chills, tiredness and breakdown, sensitivity to light (photophobia), muscle pain, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, sometimes nosebleeds, and symptoms of agitation or confusion. This phase of the disease – unless the patient says they are in contact with birds – is often confused with an infection or food poisoning. Improper treatment at this time aggravates the disease, which goes into the next phase of development.
Faza druga – dry, painful cough, chest pain and spitting blood dominate here.
Ornithosis can take the form of pseudo-flu syndrome without pneumonia, mild or severe pneumonia, acute respiratory failure, sepsis or septic shock. Complication of the disease may also be myocarditis and pericarditis. During the recovery period, thrombophlebitis or pulmonary infarction may occur.
Disease in 1 percent cases can be fatal.
Ornithosis – Diagnosis and treatment
It can be difficult to make a diagnosis. If a patient does not tell the doctor that they are in contact with birds, the symptoms alone may not be sufficient to diagnose them. Usually, however, specific serological tests of material collected from the respiratory tract and histopathological tests for the presence of macrophages and the presence of cytoplasmic inclusions and non-caerating granulation tissue and an increase in antibody changes are performed. The analysis of the results of serological tests and general symptoms occurring in the patient allows for the initiation of appropriate treatment. In light cases, antibiotics from the tetracycline group are given, and people who are allergic to them or do not tolerate them well, erythromycin. Severe or complicated cases of parrots are treated in hospital and antibiotics are given intravenously. After three weeks of taking the antibiotic, the likelihood of the disease coming back decreases.
Ornithosis – How to protect yourself?
The basis for the prevention of ornithosis is hygiene. People who work with birds should wear protective clothing and cover their mouth and nose with a disposable mask. Bird breeders should wash and tidy their cages frequently to keep them from accumulating bird droppings. You should wash your hands thoroughly after each contact with birds or their droppings.
Tekst: Anna Jarosz