In 2016, an outbreak of Chlamydia avium infection occurred among Picazuro pigeons (Patagioenas picazuro) living in an aviary in the Netherlands. Molecular typing revealed a unique strain of C. avium. Our findings show that C. avium infection, which usually causes subclinical infection, can cause fatal disease in pigeons.
Keywords: Chlamydia avium; Patagioenas picazuro; Picazuro pigeons; aviaries; bacteria; chlamydia; pigeons; real-time PCR; the Netherlands; zoonoses.