Isolation and identification of Chlamydia psittaci from pet birds

Culturing of Chlamydia psittaci from pet birds requires the inoculation of a susceptible living host system with suspensions of various tissues from dead birds or with tracheal and/or cloacal swabs and fresh feces from live birds. Cell cultures have been used as the host system. The most commonly used cell cultures for isolation of C psittaci from pet birds are McCoy and mouse L cells. The sensitivity and specificity of cell culture equals or surpasses embryonating chicken eggs and mice, and results can be obtained in less than 7 days. To obtain satisfactory results, the inoculum must be centrifuged onto the cell cultures at 37 C, and the cells must be treated with a metabolic inhibitor such as colchicine or cycloheximide. Chlamydia psitaci can be detected in infected cells by use of fluorescent antibody, Giemsa, or Gimenez staining.