On Mar. 5, 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that in February 2024, Austria, Denmark, Germany, Sweden and The Netherlands reported an increase in psittacosis cases observed in 2023 and at the beginning of 2024, particularly marked since November-December 2023.

Human infections occur mainly through contact with secretions from infected birds and are mostly associated with those who work with pet birds, poultry workers, veterinarians, pet bird owners, and gardeners in areas where C. psittaci is epizootic in the native bird population.

Five deaths were also reported. Exposure to wild and/or domestic birds was reported in most of the cases. Psittacosis is a respiratory infection caused by Chlamydophila psittaci (C. psittaci), a bacteria that often infects birds.

The concerned countries have implemented epidemiological investigations to identify potential exposures and clusters of cases. Additionally, implemented measures include the analysis of samples from wild birds submitted for avian influenza testing to verify the prevalence of C. psittaci among wild birds.

The WHO continues to monitor the situation and, based on the available information, assesses the risk posed by this event as low.