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Gestational Psittacosis Resulting in Neonatal Death Identified by Next-Generation RNA Sequencing of Postmortem,

Litty Paul1, Jessica Comstock1, Kornelia Edes1

  • 1The University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Open Forum Infectious Diseases
|August 29, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Psittacosis, a rare zoonotic disease, can lead to severe pregnancy complications. Next-generation RNA sequencing identified this elusive pathogen in a case of premature delivery and infant death.

Area of Science:

  • Medical Microbiology
  • Genomic Medicine
  • Obstetrics and Gynecology

Background:

  • Psittacosis is a rare zoonotic disease caused by Chlamydia psittaci.
  • It can result in severe maternal and fetal complications during pregnancy.
  • Diagnosis can be challenging, especially in postmortem cases.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify the causative agent in a fatal case of premature delivery and infant death.
  • To demonstrate the utility of hypothesis-free pathogen detection in postmortem tissues.
  • To highlight the risks of psittacosis during pregnancy.

Main Methods:

  • Next-generation RNA sequencing (NGS) was performed on postmortem maternal and fetal tissues.
  • Bioinformatic analysis was used for pathogen identification.
  • Standard histopathological examination was conducted.

Main Results:

  • NGS successfully identified Chlamydia psittaci in the postmortem tissues.
  • The identified pathogen was consistent with psittacosis.
  • The findings correlated with premature delivery and infant death.

Conclusions:

  • This case highlights psittacosis as a cause of severe adverse pregnancy outcomes, including infant death.
  • Hypothesis-free pathogen detection using NGS is valuable for diagnosing elusive infections in postmortem studies.
  • Early recognition and management of psittacosis in pregnant individuals are crucial.
Keywords:
Chlamydia psittacigestational psittacosismetagenomicsneonatal pneumonia

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