psittacosis

American  

[sit-uh-koh-sis] / ˌsɪt əˈkoʊ sɪs /

noun

Pathology.

1. a rickettsial disease affecting birds of the parrot family, pigeons, and domestic fowl, caused by the chlamydia Chlamydia psittaci and transmissible to humans.

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psittacosis British  

/ ˌsɪtəˈkəʊsɪs /

noun

1. Also called: parrot fever, ornithosis. a disease of parrots, caused by the obligate intracellular parasite Chlamydia psittaci, that can be transmitted to man, in whom it produces inflammation of the lungs and pneumonia

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Etymology

Origin of psittacosis

1895–1900; < Latin psittac ( us ) parrot (< Greek psittakós ) + -osis

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

psittacosis

Meantime Pittsburgh seethed with rumors of a psittacosis epidemic at McCreery's.

From Time Magazine Archive

Dr. Alexander, who remembered the psittacosis epidemic which hit Pittsburgh and other U. S. cities in 1929-30, put two and two together, reported his suspicions to Health Director Raymond P. Moyer.

From Time Magazine Archive

On March 15 came announcement of the first death officially attributed to psittacosis, that of a McCreery employe.

From Time Magazine Archive

Both behave so much alike that medical men now refer to all bird-borne virus pneumonias as ornithosis, and call both viruses "members of the psittacosis group."

From Time Magazine Archive

They include cat scratch fever from our cats, leptospirosis from our dogs, psittacosis from our chickens and parrots, and brucellosis from our cattle.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

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