Health
‘Parrot fever’ outbreaks cause 5 deaths in Europe, sparking warnings
A bacterial infection known as parrot fever has killed five people in Europe, according to an announcement from the World Health Organization (WHO).
The illness is caused by a bacteria called Chlamydia psittaci (C. psittaci), which often originates from birds, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
An increase in cases was reported by Austria, Denmark, Germany, Sweden and The Netherlands, starting in late 2023 and continuing into 2024.
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Five deaths have been reported.
“Exposure to wild and/or domestic birds was reported in most of the cases,” WHO wrote in the announcement.
A bacterial infection known as parrot fever has killed five people in Europe, according to an announcement from the World Health Organization. (iStock)
“Human infections occur mainly through contact with secretions from infected birds and are mostly associated with those who work with pet birds, poultry workers, veterinarians, pet bird owners and gardeners in areas where C. psittaci is epizootic in the native bird population.”
The countries are investigating exposures in the cases and analyzing samples from wild birds that were originally obtained for avian influenza testing.
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“The World Health Organization continues to monitor the situation and, based on the available information, assesses the risk posed by this event as low,” the statement said.
The condition is rare in the U.S., only affecting about 10 people per year, according to Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor.
How is this illness spread?
“Parrot fever can easily spread among birds when they are in close contact or confined in small spaces,” Donal Bisanzio, PhD, a senior epidemiologist with RTI International, a research institute in North Carolina, told Fox News Digital.
While not all infected birds will show symptoms, most will have some behavioral changes.
Those at highest risk for parrot fever include people who own birds or work closely with bird pets. (iStock)
“Birds affected by parrot fever will often have reduced appetite, lethargy, weight loss, diarrhea (usually with yellowish droppings), ocular discharge and breathing issues,” said Bisanzio.
“Parrot fever is also a zoonosis, meaning it can be transmitted to humans by infected birds,” he added.
Most people are exposed by breathing in airborne dust particles from infected birds’ droppings and respiratory secretions, which contain the bacteria.
Direct contact with birds can also transmit the infection.
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Those at highest risk include people who own birds or work closely with pet birds, such as pet shop employees, poultry farm workers or veterinarians, according to Bisanzio.
“Humans can be exposed to the bacterium causing the disease by handling infected birds or cleaning their cages,” he said.
Pet owners should always have newly acquired birds or birds showing symptoms of the disease examined by veterinarians specializing in bird health, the expert recommended.
Those at highest risk for parrot fever include people who own birds or work closely with pet birds, such as pet shop employees, poultry farm workers or veterinarians, according to an expert. (iStock)
Droppings left on bird feeders could also be a potential source of exposure.
“People should be careful when cleaning and replenishing bird feeders in areas affected by the outbreaks,” Bisanzio said.
The bacteria has not been found to spread through cooking or consumption of poultry.
Human outbreak risk is low, experts say
Although C. psittaci has been found in other small mammals — including dogs, cats, horses and reptiles — birds are most likely to transmit the bacteria to humans.
“It is not easily transferable from human to human, so it will not cause a large outbreak and is dependent on exposure to birds that have it,” Siegel told Fox News Digital.
“A significant portion of reported cases have required hospitalization due to pneumonia symptoms.”
Given the rarity of human-to-human transmission, Bisanzio said the disease typically leads to small, localized outbreaks in humans, often associated with exposure to pet or wild birds.
“Many cases have reported contact with wild birds, which suggests a potential outbreak of parrot fever in the wild bird population in the affected areas,” he said.
In the current European outbreaks, Bisanzio noted that more information is needed to better understand the source of exposure.
People infected by C. psittaci usually exhibit flu-like symptoms, including fever, headache, diarrhea, cough, muscle pain and fatigue. (iStock)
“Countries where outbreaks have been reported, as well as their neighboring countries, should enhance surveillance of both wild birds and pet birds that may come into contact with wild birds,” he said.
“Physicians practicing in outbreak areas and regions at high risk of transmission should be made aware of the potential exposure risk for individuals and encouraged to test those presenting symptoms that could be associated with parrot diseases.”
Symptoms, diagnosis and treatment
People infected by C. psittaci usually exhibit flu-like symptoms, including fever, headache, diarrhea, cough, muscle pain and fatigue, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Symptoms usually begin within five to 14 days after exposure.
If left untreated, the disease can progress to pneumonia.
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“Since Dec. 2013, European countries such as Denmark and the Netherlands have reported an increased number of human cases, some of which have been fatal, prompting concern among public health authorities in Europe,” said Bisanzio.
“A significant portion of reported cases have required hospitalization due to pneumonia symptoms.”
Parrot fever can be diagnosed by collecting phlegm, blood or nose and/or throat cultures.
Pet owners should always have newly acquired birds or birds showing symptoms of the disease examined by veterinarians specializing in bird health, an expert recommended. (iStock)
After diagnosis, antibiotics can be prescribed to treat the infection and alleviate symptoms, per the CDC.
Most people recover fully, but in rare cases the infection can cause complications including pneumonia, inflammation of the heart valves, hepatitis and neurologic problems.
With antibiotics, less than one in every 100 cases is fatal.
People who have been in contact with wild or pet birds and are experiencing symptoms of parrot fever should see a doctor for evaluation and treatment, experts advise.
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health.
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Eating too much salt has long been linked to high blood pressure, but new research suggests it could trick the immune system into prematurely aging the blood vessels.
A preclinical study recently published in the Journal of the American Heart Association has identified a biological chain reaction that links a salty diet to cardiovascular decay.
Scientists at the University of South Alabama observed that mice on a high-salt diet experienced rapid deterioration in their blood vessel function.
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After just four weeks of high sodium intake, the small arteries responsible for regulating blood flow lost their ability to relax, according to a press release.
The team found that the cells lining these vessels had entered a state of cellular senescence, a form of premature cellular aging in which cells stop dividing and release a mix of inflammatory signals that can damage surrounding tissue.
Excess salt has long been linked to high blood pressure, but a new study goes deeper into its effects on the cardiovascular system. (iStock)
The researchers tried to replicate this damage by exposing blood vessel cells directly to salt in a laboratory dish, but the cells showed no harmful effects.
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This suggests that salt isn’t directly causing damage to the vascular lining but that the real culprit may be the body’s own defense mechanism, the researchers noted.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system to release a molecule called interleukin-16 (IL-16), which acts as a messenger that instructs blood vessel cells to grow old before their time, according to the study.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system to release a molecule called interleukin-16, which acts as a messenger that instructs blood vessel cells to grow old before their time, according to the study. (iStock)
Once these cells age, they fail to produce nitric oxide, the essential gas that tells arteries to dilate and stay flexible.
To test whether this process could be reversed, the team turned to a class of experimental drugs known as senolytics.
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Using a cancer medication called navitoclax, which selectively clears out aged and dysfunctional cells, the researchers were able to restore nearly normal blood vessel function in the salt-fed mice, the release stated.
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By removing the decaying cells created by the high-salt diet, the drug allowed the remaining healthy tissue to maintain its elasticity and respond correctly to blood flow demands.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system into stopping the cells from dividing, the study suggests. (iStock)
The study did have some limitations. The transition from mouse models to human treatment remains a significant hurdle, the team cautioned.
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Senolytic drugs like navitoclax are still being studied for safety, and the team emphasized that previous trials have shown mixed results regarding their impact on artery plaque.
Additionally, the researchers have not yet confirmed whether the same IL-16 pathway is the primary driver of vascular aging in humans.
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Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables was found to have a surprising link to lung cancer among younger non-smokers, early research suggests.
The observational study, led by Jorge Nieva, M.D., of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center at Keck Medicine, was presented this month at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting in San Diego. It has not yet been peer-reviewed.
Researchers looked at dietary, smoking and demographic data for 187 patients who were diagnosed with lung cancer at age 50 or younger.
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They found that among non-smokers, there was a link between healthier-than-average diets – rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains – and the chance of lung cancer development.
Young lung cancer patients ate more servings of dark green vegetables, legumes and whole grains compared to the average U.S. adult, the researchers found.
Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables was found to have a surprising link to lung cancer among younger non-smokers, early research suggests. (iStock)
The researchers hypothesized that pesticides applied to conventionally grown produce could be a possible factor in the disease association.
“Commercially produced (non-organic) fruits, vegetables and whole grains are more likely to be associated with a higher residue of pesticides than dairy, meat and many processed foods,” according to Nieva. He also noted that agricultural workers exposed to pesticides tend to have higher rates of lung cancer.
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“There is a large subset of lung cancer patients whose disease is not caused by smoking,” Nieva told Fox News Digital.
The disease is becoming more common in non-smokers 50 and younger, especially women – despite the fact that smoking rates have been falling for decades, the researcher noted.
The researchers hypothesized that pesticides applied to conventionally grown produce could be a possible factor in the disease association. (iStock)
“These patients tend to have eaten much healthier diets before their diagnosis than the average American,” he went on. “We need to support research into understanding why Americans – and women in particular – who no longer smoke very much are still having lung cancer,” he said.
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The study did have some limitations, Nieva acknowledged, primarily that it relied on survey data and was limited by the participants’ memories of their food intake.
“Also, the survey participants were self-selected, and this could have biased the findings,” he told Fox News Digital.
“There is a large subset of lung cancer patients whose disease is not caused by smoking.”
The researchers did not test specific foods for pesticides, relying instead on average pesticide levels for certain types of food. Looking ahead, they plan to test patients’ blood and urine samples to directly measure pesticide levels, Nieva said.
Although the study shows only an association and does not prove that pesticides caused lung cancer, Nieva recommends that people wash their produce before eating and choose organic foods whenever possible.
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“This work represents a critical step toward identifying modifiable environmental factors that may contribute to lung cancer in young adults,” said Nieva. “Our hope is that these insights can guide both public health recommendations and future investigation into lung cancer prevention.”
“It is possible that the increased lung cancer risk could be due to pesticide exposure in whole farmed foods, but is by no means certain,” a doctor said. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, said the study is “interesting,” but that it “raises far more questions than it answers.”
“It is a small study (around 150) and observational, so no proof,” the doctor, who was not involved in the research, told Fox News Digital.
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“It is possible that the increased lung cancer risk could be due to pesticide exposure in whole farmed foods, but it is by no means certain,” Siegel went on. “How much exposure is needed? How much of it gets into food and in which areas? This requires much further study.”
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Kayla Nichols, communications director for Pesticide Action & Agroecology Network, a distributed global network, said the organization agrees with the study’s conclusion that more research should be done on the rise in lung cancer, particularly in individuals eating diets higher in produce and fiber.
“There is a large subset of lung cancer patients whose disease is not caused by smoking,” the researcher told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
“There is a bounty of existing research that already links pesticide exposure to increased risk of multiple types of cancers,” Nichols, who was also not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital. She called for more research on chronic, low-level exposures to pesticides, as well as more effective policies to protect the public from pesticide residues on food.
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The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute, as well as industry partners including AstraZeneca and Genentech, among others.
Fox News Digital reached out to several pesticide companies and trade groups for comment.
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