§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list those health authorities in which psittacosis is a notifiable disease; if he will indicate the most common ways in which psittacosis is transmitted; and how far its transmission can be controlled.
§ Mr. DorrellPsittacosis is an acute infection with variable clinical symptoms such as fever and respiratory infection. It is usually acquired by inhaling the bacterium from desiccated droppings and secretions of infected birds in an enclosed space or directly from infected birds. Household birds are a source of infection. Turkeys, ducks and pigeons are occasionally responsible for human disease. It is, however, a very rare disease. Control methods include regulating the importation of birds and the maintenance of good standards of hygiene and rearing by owners.
Psittacosis is a notifiable disease only in the districts covered by East and South Cambridgeshire district councils.