Resumo:
Chlamydia psittaci (C. psittaci) is the etiologic agent of a highly infectious zoonosis that
mainly affects birds of the orders Psittaciformes and Columbiformes, although it has already
been described in more than 467 species of domestic and free-living birds in the world. Most
human cases have been reported in association with the presence of birds, being considered one
of the main zoonoses that has birds as a source of infection. The frequency of infection by C.
psittaci was evaluated in different species of Atlantic Forest birds in the Serra da Jiboia region,
Bahia, Brazil, where 111 birds belonging to the orders Passeriformes (89), Columbiformes (7),
Apodiformes ( 6), Caprimulgiformes (4), Psittaciformes (3), Galbuliformes (2), of 55 different
species. Cloaca and oropharynx swabs were collected for the molecular diagnosis of Chlamydia
by means of a sample pool of each specimen. The study revealed that C. psittaci has free-living
avian hosts, with six specimens positive for Chlamydia sp. (5.40%, 6/111) and of these, two
individuals (Myiophobus fasciatus and Ceratopipra rubrocapilla), were positive for C. psittaci
(33.33%, 2/6) representing 1.80% (2/111) of total population studied. The presence of the
bacteria in this avifauna population confirms the circulation of the agent in the wild and the
need for further studies on the spread of Chlamydia in the Atlantic Forest Biome and its possible
interactions with captive birds and poultry breeding in the surrounding rural areas. the forest.
