Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 5 psittacosis patients in a hospital in Huai'an City

GE Haiyan; XU Lei; GAO Qiang

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1007-8134.2025.06.012

Abstract：Objective To analyze the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of psittacosis patients and to provide a scientific reference for the prevention and control strategies of Cps pneumonia in this region.Methods A retrospective study was conducted on 5 patients with Cps infection diagnosed by metagenomic next-generation sequencing(mNGS)who were admitted to the Second People's Hospital of Huai'an,Jiangsu,between December 2022 and December 2024.The basic information,epidemiological history,clinical manifestations,laboratory tests,imaging findings,treatment and prognosis of the patients were analysed descriptively.Results Among the 5 patients,3 were male and 2 were female;the average age was 61 years,ranging from 52 to 70 years.All patients had a history of contact with bird or poultry,including 1 patients with exposure to the domestic parrot(the parrot had died),and 4 patients had exposure to domestic poultry(pigeons,chickens,ducks,or geese).The main clinical manifestations were recurrent high fever.Most patients showed normal white blood cell count,elevated neutrophil percentage and C-reactive protein level,decreased lymphocyte percentage and eosinophil percentages,variable inflammatory response and malnutrition.Initial CT predominantly revealed unilateral lower-lobe infiltrates that progressed to bilateral involvement.All patients recovered after tetracycline-based therapy and were discharged.Conclusion Cps infection mainly affects elderly and middle-aged individuals with avian exposure,presents with recurrent high fever and pulmonary infiltrates,and carries a favourable outcome when promptly treated..Increased awareness of psittacosis can reduce diagnostic delay and improve clinical outcomes.