An outbreak of a respiratory infection that most often affects birds has killed five people in Europe, the World Health Organization warns.
Humans can catch psittacosis by inhaling airborne particles containing C. psittaci, but human-to-human transmission of the disease is very rare, with only a handful of cases ever reported. Instead, most people develop psittacosis by inhaling particles that waft from the breath, poop or feather dust of infected birds, especially pets such as parrots, finches or canaries.
Appropriate treatment with antibiotics can reduce the death rate of psittacosis from between 15% and 20% to just 1%. In recent years, Denmark has usually had 15 to 30 psittacosis cases annually. However, from late 2023 to late February 2024, around 23 people have been infected. Of these cases, 17 people were hospitalized, 15 developed pneumonia and four died. One case was linked to an infected pet bird. Of the 15 other cases with available information, 12 had direct contact with wild birds, mainly via bird feeders, while four said they'd had no contact with birds.
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Faculty Positions at SUSTech School of Medicine - Shenzhen, Guangdong, China job with Southern University of Science and Technology, School of MedicineSouthern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) is a public research university funded by Shenzhen city.
Source: NatureMedicine - 🏆 451. / 53 Read more »