RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 A new 'bird' in town; severe pneumonia as a new zoonotic disease transmitted by guinea pigs
JF European Respiratory Journal
JO Eur Respir J
FD European Respiratory Society
SP P2522
VO 44
IS Suppl 58
A1 Natascha Lie
A1 Edou Heddema
A1 Catharina Linssen
A1 Monique van Vliet
A1 Daisy Vanrompay
YR 2014
UL http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P2522.abstract
AB Case: A 32-year old male with an unremarkable medical history was hospitalized with a severe case of community-acquired pneumonia requiring intensive care admission and mechanical ventilation. Psittacosis was diagnosed based on a positive PCR for Chlamydophila psittaci performed on broncho-alveolar lavage fluids and acute phase serum. However, no contact with birds was reported by the patient, nor discovered by public health authorities. Genotyping did not reveal a known C. psittaci genotype. After further questioning, the patient disclosed that he recently obtained two pet guinea pigs. Because the diagnostic 'C. psittaci' PCR also detects Chlamydophila caviae, additional analysis was performed. C. caviae was found by use of C. caviae specific PCR and sequence analysis. This surprising result was confirmed by a second PCR method in a different institute. C. caviae is widely known as the agent of guinea pig inclusion conjunctivitis (GPIC). A zoonotic infection by C. caviae has not been described before. This is the first description of severe pneumonia due to C. caviae transmitted by guinea pigs. The patient recuperated slowly and after long term rehabilitation made a full recovery.