Ornithosis

Short characteristic of a disease

The ornithosis is an acute infectious disease which is shown by damages of the central nervous system and lungs, fever, intoxication, increase in the sizes of a liver and spleen. The contagium – Chlamydia psittaci chlamydia – gets into a human body from external environment where it is capable to remain up to 2-3 weeks, develops intracellularly.

Sources of infection with an ornithosis at people is wild also poultry: ducks, turkeys, parrots, canaries, wavy popugaychik and city pigeons. Most often treatment of an ornithosis is required to people who constantly contact to birds, in particular, to employees of meat-processing plants and poultry farms. Generally the ornithosis meets in cold season, and isolated cases of infection usually come to light. Family flashes and epidemics are extremely rare. The activator gets into an organism during inhalation of dust which contains the smallest parts of excrements of birds, and, therefore, and chlamydias. Besides, the ornithosis at people can be shown after accidental inhalation of particles of down of sick individuals. Patients with an ornithosis are not dangerous to people around and therefore they do not need urgent hospitalization in infectious departments of clinics or isolation from other family members.

What occurs after infection with an ornithosis?

So, chlamydias broke protective barriers and got into an organism through mucous membranes of upper respiratory tracts. After that they quickly are implemented into bronchioles and small bronchial tubes, quite often reaching альевол that provokes inflammatory processes. Reproduction of activators happens in cells. If at the diagnosis an ornithosis symptoms were misinterpreted and treatment was late, chlamydias will manage to get into blood, will cause intoxication and defeats of various bodies and systems – from adrenal glands to TsNS. Poisoning with toxins is explained by influence of both the activator, and products of its life activity.

Sometimes the infection gets to an organism through a cover of a digestive tract, but not through upper respiratory tracts. In this case development of an ornithosis happens according to the scenario described above, but without pneumonia which is characteristic only of aerogenic infection. Let's note also that after the postponed infection immunity, but it short-term and unstable therefore chances of recurrent diseases is developed. Only complex prevention of an ornithosis and regular surveys of employees of the poultry farms and other enterprises working with birds can help here.

Symptoms of an ornithosis and clinical picture

The incubation interval of an ornithosis fluctuates from 6 days to 2 weeks. At patients distinguish the acute and chronic course of a disease, at the same time the acute form is subdivided on typical (pneumonia) and atypical (ornitozny meningitis, an ornithosis at people without damage of lungs, a meningopnevmoniya).

Acute ornithosis. Begins with sharp temperature increase (to 39 degrees) then at patients the following symptoms are shown:

• general weakness, weakness;
• headache;
• loss of appetite;
• severe pains in muscles of a back and extremities;
• cold, nose congestion;
• dryness and irritation in a throat.

In 2-4 days the first signs of damage of lungs appear: the stethalgia amplifying at a breath, dry cough, allocation of a mucopurulent phlegm. Intoxication and fever during this period or keep at the initial level, or increase a little. If in time not to diagnose an ornithosis for people treatment will have to include correction of work of a liver and spleen. At the end of the first week they strongly increase in sizes, are followed by vegetovascular frustration and bystry fatigue even at insignificant exercise stresses. Let's note also that even after normalization of a condition of the patient, his health remains bad for a long time that is connected with residual effect of toxins. The absolute recovery comes only in 2-3 months after the beginning of a course of treatment.

If treatment of an ornithosis was insufficient or at all was absent, the infection flows in a chronic form. At patients with an ornithosis all symptoms of bronchitis, long intoxication, constantly high temperature which, however, seldom rises higher than 38 degrees are noted. The chronic ornithosis can proceed 4-5 years and more.

Possible complications at an ornithosis

It is possible to carry myocarditis, thrombophlebitises, development of an acute heart failure and hepatitis to the most dangerous effects of an ornithosis. At development consecutive infections at patients neuritis and purulent otitises are observed. The ornithosis quite often causes misbirths in pregnant women. Pre-natal infection does not happen.

Ornithosis at people – treatment of a disease

At treatment of an ornithosis sick appoint antibiotics from group of tetracyclines (Vibramycinum, doxycycline, tetracycline). The course of treatment lasts 4-7 days before decrease in temperature to normal level, and then within 10 days for fixing of the achieved results. If patients have an individual intolerance to tetracyclines, treatment of an ornithosis assumes their replacement by levomycetinum or erythromycin. They are less effective and therefore the absolute recovery of patients can come much later.

Prevention of an ornithosis

Prevention of an ornithosis comes down to early detection of an infection among poultry, to regulation of number of pigeons and sanitary and veterinary actions on the poultry farms and the other enterprises connected with cultivation of birds and processing of their meat. Quarantine actions are necessary for check of import products. Let's notice that prevention of an ornithosis is the only means for prevention of cases of infection as any vaccine against this disease just does not exist.