At Least 5 Dead in Parrot Fever Outbreak

The World Health Organization says cases of psittacosis—also known as parrot fever—are surging in Europe, and at least five people have died in an outbreak that began last year. The WHO says unusual numbers of cases have been reported in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands, with most cases linked to exposure to wild or domestic birds. The infection is caused by bacteria in the Chlamydia family, CNN reports. People can get infected by breathing in dust from dried droppings or secretions from infected birds. Human-to-human transmission is rare but not unheard of. More:

• Symptoms. According to the CDC, symptoms in humans include fever and chills, headaches, muscles aches, and a dry cough, and usually begin within 5 to 14 days of exposure. In birds, symptoms include poor appetite, inflamed eyes, breathing difficulty, and diarrhea, but not all infected birds show symptoms.
• Prevention. The WHO recommends increasing awareness of parrot fever among doctors—and bird owners. It says bird owners should be encouraged to practice good hand hygiene and "to keep cages clean, position cages so that droppings cannot spread among them, and avoid over-crowded cages."
• History. There was a brief but "sizable" panic in the US over parrot fever in early 1930 amid an outbreak that killed dozens of people, including several scientists, per the New Yorker. The federal Hygienic Laboratory was rewarded for its work with money for expansion and a new name—the National Institute of Health.

(More outbreak stories.)