Psittacosis is seldom diagnosed in humans; thus, the true prevalence in people is unknown. Evidence of a psittacosis has been found in 50% of patients who had contact with birds; however, the risk of transmission also arises from animals secondarily infected, outdoor activities, gardening, activities that allow exposure to bird droppings, nesting birds in heating and cooling systems, and from another person with an acute psittacosis infection.
Psittacosis has been found in patients with severe respiratory infections, lymphoma, melanoma, autoimmune diseases, sarcoidosis, eye disease, eye cancer, recurrent miscarriages, fetal demise, transverse myelitis, liver cancer, pancreatic cancer, and more. Some scientists have suggested psittacosis is a common pathogen “associated” with cancer. The prevalence of these chronic diseases suggests chlamydia psittacosis is far more common than recognized; and implementation of diagnosis and treatment of chlamydia psittacosis in medical practice could benefit patients and advance discovery in chronic diseases.
Italy has a high population of pigeons, encourages pigeons, and virtually 100% of the pigeons in Italy are infected with psittacosis. Italy also has a high rate of lymphoma, rare cancers, eye cancer, and has one of the highest rate of retinitis pigmentosa in the world. The rates of lymphoma and melanoma in Italy has been increasing, contrary to decreasing rates of lymphoma in other developed countries and a darker skin in Italian populations. Psittacosis was also found in Italian patients with Sjögren’s syndrome and parotid gland marginal zone B-cell lymphoma.
Psittacosis is not the only pathogen capable of causing these chronic diseases, nor the only pathogen(s) capable of causing cancer; however, psittacosis is one of the most pathogenic forms of chlamydia and one of the immortal pathogens capable of causing these diseases.
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