Abstract: Chlamydiosis is a naturally occurring, contagious and zoonotic disease caused by Chlamydia psittaci (C. psittaci), affecting humans as well as domestic and wild birds globally but little is known about C. psittaci infection in peafowls in China. The objective of the present investigation was therefore to examine C. psittaci seroprevalence in peafowls in Yunnan province, Southwestern China. Serum samples from 270 peafowls including 265 blue peafowls and 5 green peafowls originated from Kunming city and Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture (Banna for short) were collected in 2011 to 2012 and examined independently for the presence of antibodies to C. psittaci by the Indirect Hemagglutination Assay (IHA). In this survey, antibodies to C. psittaci were found in 84 of 270 (31.11%) peafowls. Both green peafowls (Pavo muticus) (2/5) and blue peafowls (Pavo cristatus) (30.94% of 265) were positive for C. psittaci antibody and peafowl from zoos in Kunming had higher seroprevalence (52.70% of 74) than those from peafowl gardens in Banna (22.96% of 196 samples) but the difference was not statistically significant by logistic regression analysis (p>0.05). Significant difference was observed among age groups, the prevalence in adult peafowls (86.36% of 44) was significantly higher than that in adolescent birds (5.73% of 157) (p<0.01, OR = 104.148, 95% CI = 34.920-310.620). There were no statistical interactions between ages and geographical origins of peafowl (p>0.05). The results indicated a wide distribution of C. psittaci infections among peafowls in Yunnan, Southwestern China, posing significant public health concerns. To the knowledge, this is the first report of C. psittaci infection in peafowls in Yunnan province, Southwestern China.
Y.M. Tian, D.H. Zhou, Z.H. Deng, F.Z. Yuan, Q. Miao, Y.B. Weng, X.Q. Zhu and F.C. Zou, 2012. First Record of Chlamydia Seroprevalence in Peafowls in Southwestern China. Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 11: 4567-4570.