There is a bacterium, Chlamydia psittaci, found in psittacine birds such as parrots, parakeets and cockatiels that causes a disease called psittacosis. Those at risk include pet owners, veterinarians and pet shop workers. It can even be passed on to lawn care workers who cut the grass without wearing masks in areas of heavy flocks of pidgeons. While psittacosis is rare (from 2002 through 2009, 66 human cases of psittacosis were reported to the CDC), it can be a devastating infection. Most people do not know that they have it but for those who do develop the disease, it results in full-blown pneumonia and can be confused with bacterial memingitis and other infectious diseases such as typhus, typhoid and Q fever. In some cases it can be fatal. Most of the time it can be treated with antibiotics.
It is contracted by inhaling the bacterium from bird droppings and sometimes feathers. During the time in which the nation was testing agents to be used for biological warfare, C. psittaci was one of the agents tested. In New Jersey, some of these birds require a permit in order to keep as a pet.
