title: An outbreak of chlamydiosis in captive blue-fronted Amazon parrots (Amazona aestiva) in Brazil.
abstract: Fifty-eight blue-fronted Amazon parrot (Amazona aestiva) nestlings, recovered from the illegal trade, became ill at a wildlife rehabilitation center in São Paulo State, Brazil. Clinical signs observed were nonspecific, and the mortality rate was 96.5% despite initial treatment with norfloxacin. Postmortem examinations were performed on 10 birds. Liver and spleen smears showed structures suggestive of Chlamydophila psittaci in four cases. Diagnosis was confirmed by seminested polymerase chain reaction on tissue samples. Other birds from the same location showed no clinical signs of the disease, although high complement fixation titers to C. psittaci were found in 10 adult psittacines. All birds in the facility were treated with doxycycline. The two surviving nestlings did not recover after two doxycycline treatments and were euthanatized. The high mortality rate observed in this outbreak was attributed to poor conditions of husbandry and delays in the diagnosis and treatment of the disease. After diagnosis, improved control measures for chlamydiosis were instituted.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Patologia Veterinária, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias da Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), 14884-900, Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Tânia de Freitas
authors.initials: Tde F
authors.lastname: Raso
authors.forename: Sílvia Nery
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Godoy
authors.forename: Liliane
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Milanelo
authors.forename: Cláudia Almeida Igayara
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: de Souza
authors.forename: Eliana Reiko
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Matuschima
authors.forename: João Pessoa
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Araújo Júnior
authors.forename: Aramis Augusto
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Pinto
mesh_terms: D000822:Animal Husbandry / Q000379:methods; D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000401:mortality; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002691:Chlamydophila psittaci / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000662:veterinary*; D004318:Doxycycline / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D010311:Parrots; D009956:Psittacosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000662:veterinary*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004318:Doxycycline