Psittacosis, a respiratory disease caused by a bacterium that infects mainly birds, in humans “can also cause serious forms that lead to death. Therefore, the alert launched by the World Health Organization” regarding an increase in human cases in the EU is a good thing , “because the timely communication of these risks can help us structure interventions that are as anticipatory as possible of a possible new infectious emergency”. As Fabrizio Pregliasco, virologist from the State University of Milan, comments to Adnkronos Health on the WHO report on a growing trend of human infection by Chlamydophila psittaci (C. psittaci) in the European Union between 2023 and the beginning of 2024, particularly marked last November and December. “We must welcome these alerts with a sense of responsibility and attention, without excessive alarmism – specifies the expert – but not underestimating them either“.
“We live in an ecosystem made up of continuous interactions between viruses, bacteria, animals and humans”, explains Pregliasco. Hence the need for a 'One Health' approach which requires “the responsibility and attention of everyone – he reiterates – and above all of the institutions, called to carry out increasingly intense and numerous controls within a complex and extensive international network that is financed, so that it can guarantee adequate sensitivity” to detect future emergencies in time, and fueled by “constant reports to be collected and shared quickly. This is the lesson that Covid has taught us: communication, attention, responsibility and 'concern' – the virologist comments – in the literal sense of 'first deal with' possible future dangers”.
The WHO alert
The bacterium mainly infects birds and is particularly affecting the EU where human cases of psittacosis are increasing and have also led to 5 deaths. So much so that yesterday the WHO launched an alert to report the risks and take stock of the situation. The report to the UN health agency came in February from Austria, Denmark, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands who informed, through the European Union's rapid alert and response system (EWRS), that they had detected a trend in growth in these cases in 2023 and early 2024, “particularly marked in November-December 2023”.
How it is transmitted
In most of these cases, WHO informs, exposure to wild or domestic birds has been reported. Human psittacosis infections occur primarily through contact with the secretions of infected birds and are mostly associated with those who work with pet birds or poultry, and with veterinarians, pet bird owners, and gardeners in areas where C. psittaci is epizootic in the native bird population. “The countries concerned – explains the WHO – have implemented epidemiological investigations to identify potential exposures and clusters of cases”. Among the measures implemented is the analysis of samples of wild birds subjected to avian influenza tests to verify the prevalence of C. psittaci among wild birds. The World Health Organization, we inform in a note, “continues to monitor the situation and, based on available information”, currently “assesses the risk represented by this infectious event as low”.
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