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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Infectious Diseases: Epidemiology and Prevention
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1512841

Epidemiological features and risk factors of human psittacosis in Hangzhou City, eastern China

Provisionally accepted
Zhou Sun Zhou Sun 1Ke Xu Ke Xu 1liangliang Huo liangliang Huo 1Xingliang Zhang Xingliang Zhang 1Yi Wang Yi Wang 1Yonghui Gong Yonghui Gong 1Bingbing Chen Bingbing Chen 2*
  • 1 Hangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention (HZCDC), Hangzhou, China
  • 2 Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the epidemiological characteristics and risk factors associated with human psittacosis in Hangzhou city, eastern China.Methods: The human psittacosis data from 2021 to 2024 were obtained from the China information system for diseases control and prevention infectious disease surveillance system. Epidemiological investigations were carried out on the patients' past medical history, clinical manifestations, chest CT results and treatment status. A community-based 1:3 matched case-control study was performed to investigate the risk factors associated with Chlamydia psittaci infection.Results: During the study period, 137 confirmed cases of human psittacosis were identified through laboratory tests, of which 24 (17.52%) were classified as critical cases, including one fatality. The epidemic curve indicated that the majority of cases occurred between October and March. Among the cases, 48.91% were female, and the median age was 63 years. There were more female cases among those aged <60 years, while there were more male cases among those aged ≥60 years. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the presence of bird habitats within 500 m of the living area (odds ratio [OR]=3.81, 95% confidence interval [CI]=2.19-6.61), parrots kept (OR=2.95, 95%CI=1.10-7.89) and poultry kept (OR=2.15, 95%CI=1.02-4.53) remained significantly associated with the risk of disease infection.Conclusions: Human psittacosis has become a notable public health concern in Hangzhou city, with an increase in psittacosis cases reported in recent years. Exposure to poultry, birds, or environments contaminated with Chlamydia psittaci was associated with infection. Urgent actions to reduce psittacosis cases and mitigate the impact of outbreaks are needed, including strengthening surveillance, raising public awareness, and promoting collaboration between the agricultural and health sectors.

    Keywords: Epidemiological, human psittacosis, Chlamydia psittaci, transmission, Risk factors

    Received: 17 Oct 2024; Accepted: 17 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Sun, Xu, Huo, Zhang, Wang, Gong and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Bingbing Chen, Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.