HL Deb 24 July 1991 vol 531 c63WA
Baroness Nicol

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will list in the Official Report those health authorities in which psittacosis is a notifiable disease.

Baroness Hooper

Psittacosis is a notifiable disease only in the districts covered by East and South Cambridgeshire District Councils.

Baroness Nicol

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will indicate which species of bird are most commonly linked to the contraction of the human disease psittacosis.

Baroness Hooper

Psittacosis 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 psittacine birds, notably parrots and budgerigars, in an enclosed space or directly from infected birds. Turkeys, ducks and pigeons are occasionally responsible for human infection. It is, however, a very rare disease.