Difficulties in Diagnosis of Psittacosis or Ornithosis: A Case Report

Chlamydia psittaci is an intracellular and zoonotic pathogen that is transmitted through contact with birds. This pathogen causes various clinical manifestations, including subclinical cases and fatal cases. On the other hand, the variety and low specificity of many of the symptoms make diagnosis difficult while early detection of the disease causes a significant reduction in mortality. The patient was a 47-year-old man with a history of headache, fever, chills, dyspnea, and productive cough with a primary diagnosis of sinusitis, which was treated with co-amoxiclav. Due to the lack of recovery, the patient was hospitalized with the diagnosis of pneumonia and was treated with meropenem and levofloxacin. After showing no improvement and finding out about the history of contact with a parrot, the treatment was changed to Doxycycline and Ceftriaxone, which led to the reduction of symptoms. Eventually, due to the patient’s positive serological tests, the diagnosis of Chlamydia Pneumonia was established and the patient was discharged with oral doxycycline. As the fatality rate of psittacosis in absence of treatment is high, it is necessary to treat the patient immediately.