psittacosis

psit·ta·co·sis

noun \ˌsit-ə-ˈkō-səs\

plural psit·ta·co·ses \-ˌsēz\

Definition of PSITTACOSIS

: an infectious disease of birds caused by a bacterium of the genus Chlamydia (C. psittaci), marked by diarrhea and wasting, and transmissible to humans in whom it usually occurs as an atypical pneumonia accompanied by high fever—called also parrot fever; compare ornithosis

—psit·ta·co·tic \-ˈkät-ik, -ˈkōt-\ adjective