 consistent, and cockatiels remain the most prevalent species to be infected with a rate of 24.8% positive diagnosis among examined cases.
Pet shops, breeders, and farming areas are at a higher risk of experiencing an outbreak due to the large number of birds kept in close proximity to one another.
C. psittaci is a gram negative, coccoid shaped (round), intracellular bacterium, which begins infecting a host while it is still in the elementary body phase. Only in this phase can the bacterium be freely transferred from host to host. When particles containing C. psittaci are inhaled, the bacteria will begin by attacking the host’s respiratory tract. Cells of the immune system respond to the presence of the foreign bacteria and ingest the bacteria by engulfment (known as phagocytosis) to form a phagosome. However, unlike other pathogens, upon ingestion, the bacteria do not die. Phagosomes, which are compartments formed after the bacteria is engulfed, are responsible for bringing bacteria to lysosomes, an acidic compartment in the cell. The two organelles will fuse to form a phagolysosome, which is responsible for digestion and ultimately, the death of the bacterium. In the case of C. psittaci, however, the elementary body is not killed when the phagosome and lysosome fuse; rather it is transformed into a reticulate body. A reticulate body is a bacterium that is now able to replicate. After replication of the bacterium, C. psittaci will revert back to an elementary body and exit the host cell it has infected via lysis or bursting of the cell, resulting in host cell death. The elementary body will then continue its journey and repeat the infection and proliferation process in tissues throughout the entire body of the host.
Infected birds should be kept in quarantine with proper ventilation to limit the amount of bacteria in the air. A heat lamp should be applied to maintain a cage temperature of 32℃. The environment should be kept as clean as possible. Birds should be weighed every 3-7 days to evaluate progression of the disease.
C. psittaci is highly susceptible to antibiotics such as tetracycline or its derivatives such as doxycycline or vibramycin. Tetracycline works by binding to the 30S ribosome of the bacteria, therefore inhibiting protein synthesis. This stops the proliferation of bacteria and allows the immune system to clear out the existing infection. Vibramycin is now the most commonly used antibiotic to treat psittacosis and is most effective when injected intravenously or intramuscularly (into the vein or muscle). Calcium supplements should be avoided during treatment, seeing as they bind to tetracycline and inhibit its antibacterial activity. If treatment is administered in the early stages of infection, psittacosis is rarely ever fatal.
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