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Psittacosis - Treatment

Alternative Names

Ornithosis; Chlamydia psittaci

Treatment:

The infection is treated with antibiotics. Doxycycline is the first line treatment. Other antibiotics that may be prescribed include:

Azithromycin
Erythromycin
Rifampin
Tetracycline

Note: Tetracycline by mouth is usually not prescribed for children until after all their permanent teeth have started to grow in. The medicine can permanently discolor teeth that are still forming.

Expectations (prognosis):

Full recovery is expected.

Complications:

Brain involvement
Decreased lung function as a result of the pneumonia
Heart valve infection
Inflammation of the liver (hepatitis)

Calling your health care provider:

Antibiotics are needed to treat this infection. If you develop symptoms of psittacosis, call your health care provider.

Lungs

Respiratory system

Reviewed last on: 8/29/2008
Sean O. Stitham, MD, private practice in Internal Medicine, Seattle, Washington; and Benjamin Medoff, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Pulmonary and Critical Care Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Brunham RC. Diseases caused by chlamydiae. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 339.

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