Chlamydiosis (parrot fever) in parrots
Other names: Chlamydia، Parrot fever، Psittacosis، Eye cold and green diarrhea
Symptoms
- May show no signs (carrier)
- Loss of appetite, depression, difficulty breathing
- Eye and nasal discharge and conjunctivitis
- Green diarrhea and green urine (biliverdin)
- Dehydration and polyuria
How it spreads
With droppings and nasal and eye secretions; remains infectious in dust and organic debris for over a month; incubation 3 days to several weeks; stress activates shedding.
Diagnosis
PCR of a pooled swab (conjunctiva + throat + cloaca) with antibody testing; serology alone is insufficient and antigen tests often give false negatives.
Treatment
Doxycycline is the first choice for 45 days; reduce dietary calcium during oral treatment; treat all birds in the cage/group.
Prevention
Quarantine and PCR testing for new birds, ventilation, moistening debris before cleaning to reduce dust, an N95 mask and gloves for the breeder, disinfection.
Treatment and doses are decided by an avian vet after an exam; Zajel does not publish doses.
Other diseases
- Avian tuberculosis (mycobacteria)
- Gram-negative bacterial infection (E. coli/Klebsiella/Pseudomonas)
- Salmonella
- Chronic sinusitis (mycoplasma)
- Clostridial infection
- Bumblefoot
Sources
- merckvetmanual.com
- cdc.gov
- REFERENCE (not fetched): NASPHV 2017 Compendium of Measures to Control Chlamydia psittaci Infection Among Humans and Pet Birds – linked from the CDC page