Spread of infection is through direct contact with secretions from infected
animals, or aerosol spread.
Treatment
There is a serious human health risk so a decision to treat an infected animal
or bird must not be taken lightly.
The treatments of choice for psittacosis
are tetracyclines. Dosing through water intake is unsatisfactory as it is
necessary to maintain high therapeutic levels in the blood and this cannot be
guaranteed by adding antibiotic to water supply.
- Birds
- Up to 45 days therapy with chlortetracycline 5g/L water is usually
recommended.
- Doxycycline given at 75mg/kg by intramuscular injection every 5 days
for 45 days
- Cats (C.felis)
- Doxycyline by mouth 5mg/kg 1-2 times daily for 6 weeks
- Oxytetracycline by subcutaneous or intramuscular injection 10mg/kg
- Cattle
- Oxytetracycline by depot injection intramuscularly 20mg/kg every 2-4
days or 30mg/kg every 6 days.
- Dogs
- Doxycycline by mouth 10mg/kg
- Oxytetracycline by mouth 25mg/kg twice daily
- Oxytetracycline by injection (subcutaneous/intramuscular) 2-10 mg/kg
daily
- Pigs
- Oxytetracycline by mouth 10-30mg/kg 1-2 times daily
- Sheep
- Oxytetracycline by depot injection intramuscularly 20mg/kg every 2-4
days or 30mg/kg every 6 days.
If tetracyclines are contraindicated in a patient erythromycin may be an
alternate subject to medicines licensing regulations.
Prevention
There is a vaccine available for use in cats.