HWN Suggests

8 Delightful Sayings We Need To Bring Back

If you're feeling poorly, borrow a page from the avian kingdom and say you're "sick as a parrot."

Why a parrot? Remarkably, this curious comparison predates the Monty Python "dead parrot" sketch. Several lively theories, none of them provable, explain its origin: One is that parrot smugglers from South America used to sedate birds to sneak them quietly across the border to U.S. buyers. When the birds awoke from their drugged sleep, groggy and stumbling, their new owners thought they looked hungover and coined the whimsical comparison.

Another theory suggests that "parrot" is a corruption of the French word "Pierrot" (i.e., a pasty-faced clown). Still others point to psittacosis…

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 Psittacosis - A zoonotic disease

The good news is not all of our pet parrots are secretly planning on infecting us with this disease, and transmission to people is not common. We advise that all birds showing sign of respiratory problem be tested for Chlamydia, not only to ensure they get better but also to prevent it spreading to people. The test only requires one drop of blood and generally takes 1 week to get results.

Articles of Interest

It’s Spreading

Outbreaks, media scares, and the parrot panic of 1930.

Pneumonia, Psittacosis

Psittacosis is a systemic disease that can cause an atypical pneumonia when it infects the lungs. Psittacosis is also known as avian chlamydiosis, ornithosis, and parrot fever. This disease is caused by the zoonotic bacterium Chlamydia psittaci, which is transmitted to humans primarily from birds.

Psittacosis Explained

Particularly considering that Psittacosis is contagious to humans. If you live or work with birds – this is an illness you need to be aware of.

Psittacosis: What Bird Owners Need to Know

The traditional treatment of this bacterium is the use of doxycycline for 45 days. The reason that the course of therapy is so long is that the C. psittaci organism can hide out in the macrophage — a type of white blood cell in the bloodstream.

Resources

Dr Meducci vet's blog

The word psittacosis is derived from the Greek work Psittakos, which means parrot. It is a label for a disease in birds that has been recognized for the last century. Called psittacosis if it infects psittacines (parrots, parakeets, cockatoos, etc.), the same malady is termed ornithosis if it infects other types of birds. Other names include parrot fever and chlamydiosis. The causative agent is Chlamydia psittaci. This "microvarmit" is like a bacteria (in that it responds to antibiotics) as well as like a virus (in that it will grow only on a tissue culture, not on bacterial media).

Mickaboo.org

We are not vets or physicians, but we can tell you what we know about psittacosis from our vet and physician. It is an infection birds can get and transmit to humans. It is not common for humans to get it. People with immune suppressions like Lupus or HIV, the very elderly and people with infants need to be more careful (as with any infection).

PetHealth.com.au

Do you love your bird? That's good but you shouldn't get carried away with your affection. For instance, kissing your bird is not healthy and one reason for this is the disease Psittacosis. Psittacosis is a zoonosis, a disease which can be spread from animals (birds in this case) to humans.

California Department of Public Health

People get the disease by breathing the dust from dried bird droppings, or by handling infected birds. The symptoms in humans are fever, headache, chills, cough, and sometimes pneumonia. Psittacosis is not spread person to person.

CDC

Chlamydia psittaci is a type of bacteria that often infects birds. Less commonly, these bacteria can infect people and cause a disease called psittacosis. Psittacosis causes a wide range of symptoms, including fever, headache, and a dry cough. This illness can also cause pneumonia (a lung infection) that may require treatment or care in a hospital. Rarely, psittacosis can be deadly.

In 1929, Parrot Fever Gripped The Country

It was a classic medical scare story: Parrots died. A few people got sick. Newspapers went wild. Then, well after the outbreak of "parrot fever" was declared dormant, researchers who dealt with the birds began to mysteriously die themselves. Historian Jill Lepore talks to host Jacki Lyden about the great parrot fever outbreak of 1929.

MedlinePlus

Psittacosis is a rare disease... Bird owners, pet shop employees, persons who work in poultry processing plants, and veterinarians are at increased risk for this infection. Typical birds involved are parrots, parakeets, and budgerigars, although other birds have also caused the disease.

Patient

Tetracycline or doxycycline are the usual first-line antibiotics of choice.[6] Treatment is normally given for 2-3 weeks to lower the risk of relapse. Patients normally show a response within 24-72 hours.

StatPearls

Psittacosis is a systemic disease that can cause an atypical pneumonia when it infects the lungs. Psittacosis is also known as avian chlamydiosis, ornithosis, and parrot fever. This disease is caused by the zoonotic bacterium Chlamydia psittaci, which is transmitted to humans primarily from birds.