Psittacosis. Is contact with birds causing your patient's pneumonia?

Psittacosis is an uncommon source of community-acquired pneumonia but can cause significant morbidity and possibly death if not properly diagnosed and treated. Although it occurs most often among handlers of pet psittacine birds, it can be contracted during poultry processing and other contacts with nonpsittacine birds. Clinical presentation is nonspecific, and history taking is often critical in establishing the diagnosis. All suspected cases should be confirmed with serologic antibody testing. Whenever possible, the source of the infection should be identified to prevent further spread of the illness. Infections in humans should be reported to the CDC.