People that work with animals are at increased risk for certain infectious diseases. That’s pretty clear. Pet shop employees fit into this group as well, and they may be at particular risk for specific diseases because of their close contact with young animals, birds, rodents and reptiles. A suspected case of psittacosis in a Toronto
Smuggling Psittacosis
As an illustration of some of the points made in the recent Worms&Germs post on animal smuggling, an outbreak of psittacosis was recently reported in Russia, which has been linked to illegally imported decorative birds. Since December 30, 21 cases of psittacosis have been reported in the Petuhovsky district of the Kurgan region.
Pet store sued over bird owner death
Once again, a pet store is being sued following a death related to a pet sold at the store. Earlier, we
reported a pet store being sued by a woman whose husband died of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. Now, a pet store is being sued after a man died of psittacosis. This disease is
Psittacosis
The National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians (NASPHV) has recently released a comprehensive document about psittacosis. This is a disease of people caused by the bacterium Chlamydophila psittaci (formerly known as Chlamydia psittaci). Psittacosis usually causes flu-like disease but can cause severe pneumonia and other problems. Chlamydophila psittaci is most commonly carried