Liang Zeqi, Ba Te, Liang Lin
Department of Animal Medicine, College of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Qinghai University, Xining810016, China.
Hainan Animal Disease Prevention and Control Center, Qinghai Province, Gonghe 813000, China.
Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis. 2025 Aug;121:102368. doi: 10.1016/j.cimid.2025.102368. Epub 2025 May 29.
Chlamydia psittaci (C. psittaci) is a zoonotic pathogen, causing a systemic wasting disease in avian as well as lung infections in humans. To evaluate the risks of psittacosis posed through pet birds, 182 fecal samples were collected from commercially popular parrot species, including budgerigars (n = 87), cockatiels (n = 28), and lovebirds (n = 67), in Xining City, northwestern China. Through molecular methods, results revealed that an overall C. psittaci prevalence of 14.3 % (26/182), while species-specific infection rates of 21.8 % (19/87) in budgerigars, 10.7 % (3/28) in cockatiels, and 6.0 % (4/67) in lovebirds. Phylogenetic analysis ompA, 16S rRNA, and 16-23S rRNA intergenic spacer (IGS) gene sequence obtained in this study confirmed that all sequences were classified to the Chlamydiaceae family and showed a high similarity to C. psittaci strains 6BC, that was previously identified in avian. This is the first documented report of C. psittaci prevalence in the pet bird markets on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. These findings provided an essential baseline data for understanding the epidemiology of C. psittaci in northwestern China and highlighted the need for surveillance to mitigate potential zoonotic risks.
鹦鹉热衣原体是一种人畜共患病原体，可导致禽类出现全身性消耗性疾病以及人类肺部感染。为评估宠物鸟引发鹦鹉热的风险，在中国西北部的西宁市，从商业上流行的鹦鹉品种中采集了182份粪便样本，这些品种包括虎皮鹦鹉（n = 87）、鸡尾鹦鹉（n = 28）和牡丹鹦鹉（n = 67）。通过分子方法，结果显示鹦鹉热衣原体总体患病率为14.3%（26/182），而虎皮鹦鹉的物种特异性感染率为21.8%（19/87），鸡尾鹦鹉为10.7%（3/28），牡丹鹦鹉为6.0%（4/67）。对本研究中获得的ompA、16S rRNA和16 - 23S rRNA基因间隔区（IGS）基因序列进行系统发育分析，证实所有序列均归类于衣原体科，并且与先前在禽类中鉴定出的鹦鹉热衣原体菌株6BC具有高度相似性。这是青藏高原宠物鸟市场中鹦鹉热衣原体患病率的首次文献报道。这些发现为了解中国西北部鹦鹉热衣原体的流行病学提供了重要的基线数据，并强调了进行监测以降低潜在人畜共患病风险的必要性。
