Ornithosis (Psittacosis): An Epidemiological Study of a Wisconsin Human Outbreak Transmitted from Turkeys

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Abstract
A large reservoir of ornithosis was found in domestic turkeys in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Isolates from 2 flocks were identified as ornithosis virus serotypes of low virulence to experimental turkeys and mice, and formerly thought to be nonpathogenic in man. While no human strains were isolated, evidence based on epidemiological, experimental, clinical and ecological considerations indicated that the human infections reported in the article were caused by virus strains identical in serotype with those of the turkey isolates. The outbreak affected 19 workers in a processing plant who were exposed to infected turkeys through industrial environmental factors. Results of the study tend to support the belief that many human ornithosis infections due to turkey virus strains are not being diagnosed.