Posted on 04/16/2009 8:22:30 AM PDT by llevrok
A 50-year-old man from Karlskrona in southern Sweden has died from parrot fever.
When the man was admitted to hospital, doctors diagnosed him with a serious case of pneumonia, according to the Sydöstran newspaper.
Tests later revealed that the man was infected with the Chlamydophila psittaci bacteria which is common in birds but can also spread to humans.
Ten days before he died, the man had cut down a tree with a large birds nest and was most likely infected then.
Parrot fever, also known as psittacosis, must be reported to the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control (Smittskyddsinstitutet) as well as infectious disease specialists at local health authorities.
The Institute for Infectious Disease Control is urging caution for people tasked with clearing trees and brush or cleaning eves and gutters with bird nests. The agency warns that wild birds exhibiting signs of the disease are capable of spreading it. Anyone who has handled bird droppings is urged to wash their hand thoroughly.
Between 1999 and 2008, a total of 124 cases of parrot fever were discovered in Sweden, according to statistics from the Institute for Infectious Disease Control.
The number of cases varies greatly from year to year, ranging from 29 in 1999 to two cases in 2006. Approximately one percent cases prove fatal.
He’s just resting.
He couldn’t afjord good health care.
LOL!
He’s pining for the fjords.
I had parrot fever once. I kept getting chased away from the poultry farm in the wee hours of the morning.
And he didn’t even have a parrot. That’s pretty unfair.
Look, matey, I know a dead Swede when I see one! And I’m lookin’ at one right now.
The perfect Parrot / fjord / pining convergence.
One of my overarching pursuits in life is to die in a manner appropriate to a Jimmy Buffet song lyric.
Deceased Parrot? Ceased to be?
that’s funny!
afjord. good one.
Just pining for the fjords!
Cheeseburger in paradise?
I don’t know why ... Fjord is in much better shape than GM or Chrysler.
Psittacosis, the disease called by this bacteria...has been used in the past as a Biological Warfare agent. So, this isn’t a joking matter. Obviously, this is a relatively virulent strain he contracted. This makes this an ideal place for terrorists that are “bio prospecting.”
Interesting. Thanks for posting.
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