Epidemiology, Clinical Features, and Advances in Diagnosis and Treatment of Chlamydia psittaci Pneumonia: A Narrative Review
- 1Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Huizhou Central People’s Hospital, Huizhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China
- 2Department of Geriatrics, Huizhou First Hospital, Huizhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China
Abstract
Changquan Fang,1 Limin Xu21Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Huizhou Central People’s Hospital, Huizhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Geriatrics, Huizhou First Hospital, Huizhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Limin Xu, Department of Geriatrics, Huizhou First Hospital, No. 20 Sanxin South Road, Huicheng District, Huizhou, 516000, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 136-3199-9563, Email [email protected]: Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia is an underrecognized zoonotic infectious disease that primarily involves the lungs but frequently affects extrapulmonary organ systems. Clinical and radiological features are nonspecific, and diagnosis remains challenging. Culture, although the gold standard, is slow, low-yield, and requires biosafety level 3 facilities; serology is limited by cross-reactivity and the need for paired sera; and polymerase chain reaction, although rapid, generally targets selected genes and is often used only when clinical suspicion is high. The widespread use of metagenomic next-generation sequencing and targeted next-generation sequencing has increased the reported detection of C. psittaci, largely reflecting improved diagnostic capability rather than a proven increase in disease incidence. Tetracyclines remain first-line therapy; macrolides and fluoroquinolones are alternatives, although fluoroquinolone monotherapy may fail in severe disease. Evidence for combination therapy and newer agents such as omadacycline remains limited, and the true disease burden is likely underestimated because surveillance is incomplete. This narrative review summarizes current evidence on epidemiology, clinical and radiological features, diagnosis, and treatment of C. psittaci pneumonia and highlights key evidence gaps.Keywords: Chlamydia psittaci, community-acquired pneumonia, next-generation sequencing, diagnosis, treatment
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BibTeX
@article{fang2026epidemiology,
title = {{Epidemiology, Clinical Features, and Advances in Diagnosis and Treatment of Chlamydia psittaci Pneumonia: A Narrative Review}},
author = {Changquan Fang and Limin Xu},
journal = {Infection and Drug Resistance},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.2147/idr.s655983},
url = {https://www.dovepress.com/epidemiology-clinical-features-and-advances-in-diagnosis-and-treatment-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-IDR},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Epidemiology, Clinical Features, and Advances in Diagnosis and Treatment of Chlamydia psittaci Pneumonia: A Narrative Review
AU - Changquan Fang
AU - Limin Xu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/01
JO - Infection and Drug Resistance
DO - 10.2147/idr.s655983
UR - https://www.dovepress.com/epidemiology-clinical-features-and-advances-in-diagnosis-and-treatment-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-IDR
AB - Changquan Fang,1 Limin Xu21Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Huizhou Central People’s Hospital, Huizhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Geriatrics, Huizhou First Hospital, Huizhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Limin Xu, Department of Geriatrics, Huizhou First Hospital, No. 20 Sanxin South Road, Huicheng District, Huizhou, 516000, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 136-3199-9563, Email [email protected]: Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia is an underrecognized zoonotic infectious disease that primarily involves the lungs but frequently affects extrapulmonary organ systems. Clinical and radiological features are nonspecific, and diagnosis remains challenging. Culture, although the gold standard, is slow, low-yield, and requires biosafety level 3 facilities; serology is limited by cross-reactivity and the need for paired sera; and polymerase chain reaction, although rapid, generally targets selected genes and is often used only when clinical suspicion is high. The widespread use of metagenomic next-generation sequencing and targeted next-generation sequencing has increased the reported detection of C. psittaci, largely reflecting improved diagnostic capability rather than a proven increase in disease incidence. Tetracyclines remain first-line therapy; macrolides and fluoroquinolones are alternatives, although fluoroquinolone monotherapy may fail in severe disease. Evidence for combination therapy and newer agents such as omadacycline remains limited, and the true disease burden is likely underestimated because surveillance is incomplete. This narrative review summarizes current evidence on epidemiology, clinical and radiological features, diagnosis, and treatment of C. psittaci pneumonia and highlights key evidence gaps.Keywords: Chlamydia psittaci, community-acquired pneumonia, next-generation sequencing, diagnosis, treatment
SN - 1178-6973
ER -