Health alert after parrot fever infects humans in Sweden
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Parrot fever is surging in Sweden, with 12 people infected this month alone, amid concerns that the outbreak could escalate.
The flu-like disease – spread by wild birds including parakeets – can lead to severe pneumonia and meningitis in humans.
Since September, 25 cases have been reported in Sweden, with 12 this month alone. Infections have been recorded in eight regions across the country, with most cases from Västra Götaland and Kalmar, according to Folkhälsomyndigheten, Sweden’s Public Health Agency.
The disease mainly jumps from birds to humans via the inhalation of airborne particles from the droppings of infected wild birds. Although spillovers remain fairly rare, recent studies suggest “human to human transmission may be more common than previously thought,” according to Prof Paul Hunter, a professor in Medicine at the University of East Anglia.
A 2022 paper in the Lancet journal called the potential increase “an emerging public health risk to medical workers and other close contacts”.
“Sweden has seen a marked increase in reports of psittacosis since 2016,” Prof Hunter said. “The Swedes are not sure of the cause but suspect it may be due, in part, to new diagnostic test panels that now include the disease whereas previously the test was mainly only done when the requesting doctor specifically asked for it”.
Parrot fever, better known as psittacosis, is an acute respiratory disease caused by a bacteria called Chlamydophila psittaci. It typically causes flu-like symptoms, but can lead to severe pneumonia and meningitis in humans and has up to 90 per cent chance of killing young birds.
There was an unexpected increase in infections in southern Sweden earlier this year, where more than half the infections, 28 out of 45 cases, were reportedly caused by handling of poultry, caged birds or bird feeders, according to the Department of Epidemiology and Disease Control in Sweden.
