Bird breeders or pet bird owners who do not clean cages on a regular basis allow the organism, that is mainly shed in the feces, to aerosolize, thereby exposing themselves and susceptible birds. Maintaining a clean aviary will reduce exposure and illness to other birds and aviary personnel if there is a sick bird shedding the bacteria. Infectious organisms that can be transmitted from animals to humans are called zoonotic diseases. Pneumonia, high fever, sweating and general fatigue are the common associated with human psittacosis. This is a treatable illness, but if left untreated, may cause death in some cases.
Human psittacosis is rare, and death associated with the infection in humans extremely rare.
The aviculture community would like to keep it that way. So please do your part as responsible bird owners to keep all bird owners and especially new bird owners informed about this disease. Clinical signs associated with the illness in pet birds include depression, anorexia, green diarrhea, difficulty breathing, choanal inflammation and nasal discharge. The chlamydial organism affects the liver and other major vital organs. Green diarrhea is associated with the hepatitis that occurs during an avian chlamydiosis infection.