Ornithosis: symptoms of disease in humans and birds

Ornithosis refers to zoonotic infections and is characterized by a high temperature, pronounced intoxication of the body, damage to the nervous and respiratory systems, as well as an increase in the spleen and liver.

Important information

The causative agent of this disease is a bacterium from the Chlamydia family. Infection occurs through the respiratory or digestive tract. Carriers of the bacteria are domesticated and wild birds.

People with a middle or older age are more often ill, illness among children is much less common.

Infection with ornithosis can occur from a sick person or bird, which is affected by chlamydia.

When ornithosis develops, symptoms can be atypical. In this case, the disease proceeds without lung damage. There may be an increase in the liver or spleen. If the chlamydia primarily fall on the mucous membranes of the respiratory system, then later pneumonia develops with subsequent spread of the pathogen through the blood, which leads to severe intoxication and viremia. In this case, there is a typical clinical picture.

Ornithosis: symptoms in humans

The incubation period for this disease lasts 1-3 weeks.

When acute form of the disease in patients there is fever, chills, sweating. They complain of insomnia, sometimes there may be nausea or constipation. If ornithosis is diagnosed, symptoms of this disease in 1-2% of cases include typical manifestations of meningitis.

Often when ornithosis develops conjunctivitis. Patients are in a state of depression, they are apathetic or, conversely, excited. Subsequently, signs of laryngitis or tracheobronchitis show up, a cough is observed. Also affects the cardiovascular system, which leads to the appearance of hypotension, muffled heart tones.

When ornithosis occurs, the symptoms may have a chronic course. In this case, internal organs are affected, chronic bronchitis is diagnosed and a persistent cough is diagnosed.

Chlamydial infection in childhood occurs in the form of otitis, nasopharyngitis, vulvovaginitis or pneumonia. When ornithosis develops in children, the symptoms are typical. Often there are complications in the form of myocarditis, neuritis, inflammation of the liver (hepatitis).

After the disease, stable immunity is formed for 3 years. There may be repeated infection.

Ornithosis: symptoms in birds

By what signs can we assume that the bird develops ornithosis, and that it is dangerous in the epidemiological plan for the surrounding people?

Chlamydial infection can occur in different ways, sometimes completely asymptomatic. In parrots in the acute period of the disease the condition is oppressed, they have no reaction to external stimuli. There are signs of asthenia - birds sit drowsy, feathers are ruffled. Breathing becomes noisy, mucous exudate begins to form from the nasal passages, and the litter acquires a green color. Symptoms persist for up to eight days. If a lightning-fast current of ornithosis is observed, then death occurs within a few hours.

In domestic birds, ornithosis can occur without obvious clinical manifestations. Sometimes conjunctivitis and a decrease in fertility are observed. Other symptoms are absent. In rare cases, the same clinical picture of ornithosis develops as in parakeet patients. It should be noted that young individuals suffer the disease more severely, as they develop typical respiratory, digestive or nerve disorders that lead to death.