| Summary: | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Psittacosis, an avian disease caused by <it>Chlamydophila psittaci</it>, can manifest as an acute, protracted, or chronic illness, but can also be asymptomatic. <it>C</it>. <it>psittaci</it> can persist in the host for months to years, often without causing obvious illness, and therefore poses a threat for zoonotic outbreak. We investigated the prevalence of <it>C</it>. <it>psittaci</it> from 156 tracheal swab samples from 34 different species of parrots in Poland, and determined the genotype of strains from the positive samples.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>An overall prevalence of 10.3% was observed using two different PCR assays, both providing similar results. Thirteen of the PCR-positive samples were genotype A, two were genotype B, and one could not be classified.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results indicate widespread dissemination of <it>C</it>. <it>psittaci</it> in Polish psittacine populations, without any clinical signs of chlamydiosis, and hence could pose a zoonotic hazard. PCR screening provided a definitive diagnosis of psittacosis, and subsequent <it>ompA</it> gene analysis could be helpful for better understanding the epidemiology of the <it>C</it>. <it>psittaci</it> genotypes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the incidence of <it>C</it>. <it>psittaci</it> in parrots in Poland.</p>
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