Name: Chlamydia psittaci (Lillie 1930) Page 1968 (Approved Lists 1980)

Category: Species

Proposed as: comb. nov.

Basonym: "Rickettsia psittaci" Lillie 1930

Etymology: psit’ta.ci. L. masc. n. psittacus, a parrot; L. gen. masc. n. psittaci, of a parrot

Pronunciation, gender: PSIT-ta-ki, feminine

Type strain: 6BC; ATCC VR-125; Psittacosis strain 6 BC

Conduct genome-based taxonomy at

16S rRNA gene: AB001778 Analyse FASTA

Effective publication: Page LA. Proposal for the recognition of two species in the genus Chlamydia Jones, Rake and Stearns 1945. International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology 1968; 18:51-66.

IJSEM list: Skerman VBD, McGowan V, Sneath PHA. Approved lists of bacterial names. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1980; 30:225-420.

Nomenclatural status: validly published under the ICNP

Taxonomic status: correct name (and explicitly recommended for medical use)

Risk group: 3

• Synonyms:

  • Name	Kind
    "Rickettsia psittaci" Lillie 1930	homotypic synonym, not validly published, basonym of name in Approved Lists
    Chlamydophila psittaci (Lillie 1930) Everett et al. 1999	homotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP

• Emendations:
  • García-López et al. 2019 Garcia-Lopez M, Meier-Kolthoff JP, Tindall BJ, Gronow S, Woyke T, Kyrpides NC, Hahnke RL, Goker M. Analysis of 1,000 Type-Strain Genomes Improves Taxonomic Classification of Bacteroidetes. Front Microbiol 2019; 10:2083. Oren A, Garrity GM. List of changes in taxonomic opinion no. 32. Notification of changes in taxonomic opinion previously published outside the IJSEM. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2020; 70:4061-4090.

• Notes:
  • 😷 The risk group for Belgium has been imported on 2024-02-05. The full classification is: risk group = 3, note = "serotype 1: 2 human and animal pathogen - biological class of risk animal: 2; default: 3 human and animal pathogen - biological class of risk animal: 3; avian strains: 3 human and animal pathogen - biological class of risk animal: 3; non avian strains: 2 human and animal pathogen - biological class of risk animal: 2". — The risk group for Canada has been imported on 2024-02-27. The full classification is: risk group = 3, note = "Animal classification RG: 3 - Security sensitive biological agent: Yes - Terrestrial animal pathogen under Canadian Food Inspection Agency authority: No". — The risk group for Swiss Confederation has been imported on 2024-02-01. The full classification is: risk group = 3, note = "Some strains are less virulent (strains of non-avian origin) and may be hand-led in the same way as organisms of group 2.". — The risk group for Germany has been imported on 2023-10-29. The full classification is: risk group = 3, note = "Z". — The risk group for France has been imported on 2024-08-30. The full classification is: risk group = 3, note = "souches aviaires: 3; autres souches: 2 ". — The risk group for Sweden has been imported on 2024-02-05. The full classification is: risk group = 3, note = "andra stammar: 2; fågelassocierade stammar: 3 ". — The risk group for Taiwan has been imported on 2024-11-03. The full classification is: risk group = 3, note = "default: 2 P650 = v; avian strains: 3 P620 = v, P650 = v". — The risk group for United States has been imported on 2024-02-09. The full classification is: risk group = 2. — If in doubt, use the risk group given in the regulations for your country and, if these are not available, use the risk group given in the catalogue of the culture collection from which you have obtained or intend to obtain the strain.
  • 🎓 Name mentioned 1830 times in PubMed until 2025-06-04.
  • 🙆 This name is on the List of Recommended Names for bacteria of medical importance (LoRN) as the name to be applied to this species. The name is on LoRN because of the recorded risk group of the species itself.
  • 🧍 According to Bartlett et al. (2022), this species is an established human pathogen. Publication: Bartlett A, Padfield D, Lear L, Bendall R, Vos M. A comprehensive list of bacterial pathogens infecting humans. Microbiology (Reading) 2022; 168:0.
  • 🧍 In the Approved Lists of Bacterial Names, the type strain is erroneously cited as ATCC VR 125 (without dash). — Tang J. Personal communication, 2001-05-30.

Parent taxon: Chlamydia Jones et al. 1945 (Approved Lists 1980)

Assigned by: Page LA. Proposal for the recognition of two species in the genus Chlamydia Jones, Rake and Stearns 1945. International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology 1968; 18:51-66.

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Record number: 783627