PSITTACOSIS

psit·ta·co·sis   (sĭt'ə-kō'sĭs)    n.  An infectious disease of parrots and related birds caused by the bacterium Chlamydia psittaci, that is communicable to humans, in whom it produces high fever, severe headache, and symptoms similar to pneumonia. Also called parrot fever. [New Latin psittacōsis : Latin psittacus, parrot (from Greek psittakos) + -osis.] psit'ta·cot'ic (-kŏt'ĭk, -kō'tĭk) adj.

Main Entry: psit·ta·co·sis
Pronunciation: "sit-&-'kO-s&s
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural psit·ta·co·ses /-"sEz/
: an infectious disease of birds caused by a bacterium of the genus Chlamydia (C. psittaci), marked by diarrheaand wasting, and transmissible to humans in whom it usually occurs as an atypical pneumonia accompanied by high fever called also parrot fever; —compare ORNITHOSIS —psit·ta·co·tic /-'kät-ik, -'kOt-/ adjective

psittacosis psit·ta·co·sis (sĭt'ə-kō'sĭs)
n.
An infectious disease of parrots and related birds caused by the bacterium Chlamydia psittaci, that is communicable to humans, in whom it produces high fever, severe headache, and symptoms similar to pneumonia. Also called parrot fever.

psittacosis

infectiousinfectious disease of worldwide distribution caused by a bacterial parasite (Chlamydia psittaci) and transmitted to humans from various birds. The infection has been found in about 70 different species of birds; parrots and parakeets (Psittacidae, from which the disease is named), pigeons, turkeys, ducks, and geese are the principal sources of human infection.

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