Argentina recorded four hospitalizations caused by psittacosis, a disease also known as parrot fever. Cases were identified in the province of Santa Fe, and all patients have a delicate picture of bilateral pneumonia. They are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Hospital Dr. Jaime Ferre.
According to information from the newspaper El Clarín, those infected are adults and belong to the same family, resident of the neighborhood of Barranquitas. The patients contracted the disease days after one of them brought home a bird, which appeared to be healthy. However, the parrot soon became ill and died, infecting family members as well.
Parrot fever is triggered by a bacteria called Chlamydia Psittaci, main infectious disease transmitted by wild birds. Among the symptoms that infected humans present are fever of at least 39°C, vomiting, difficulty breathing, runny nose, mental confusion, dry cough, diarrhea, headaches and muscle aches, and even meningitis.
Treatment is via antibiotics.
