New disease outbreak claims 5 lives in Europe: Symptoms

What is known about the disease

The first cases were recorded in 2023, and now their number has increased. Ornithosis has already claimed the lives of 5 people, 4 in Denmark and one in the Netherlands.

Most infections have been reported in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands.

How can you get infected? What are the symptoms?

Ornithosis is also called parrot disease. The infection is caused by the bacterium Chlamydia psittaci. You can become infected from birds raised on farms, such as chickens, as well as from exotic birds kept at home: parrots, canaries, and pigeons.

This often happens during cleaning the bird cage or touching the bird with your face.

According to the WHO, this disease cannot be transmitted through eating meat or from another person.

The most common symptoms are headache, muscle pain, dry cough, fever, and chills. The disease can be treated with antibiotics.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people usually get infected with parrot fever by inhaling bacteria-contaminated dust from the secretions of infected birds. A person can also get sick after being bitten by an infected bird. Transmission of the virus from person to person is possible but rare.

Read also about how to protect a child from a common disease.

This material is for informational purposes only and should not be used for medical diagnosis or self-treatment. Our goal is to provide readers with accurate information about symptoms, causes, and methods of detecting diseases. RBС-Ukraine is not responsible for any diagnoses that readers may make based on materials from the resource. We do not recommend self-treatment and advise consulting a doctor in case of any health concerns.