Isolation of Chlamydia psittaci from nasal and conjunctival exudate of a domestic cat.

A feline strain of Chlamydia psittaci was isolated in tissue culture from nasal and conjunctival swabs from a free range domestic cat with bilateral conjunctivitis and rhinitis, living in the Liverpool area of the UK. The isolate was identified as C psittaci on the basis of its characteristic inclusion morphology in cell culture and by means of specific indirect immunofluorescence with known C psittaci specific antiserum. The isolate could be differentiated from other chlamydiae of non-feline origin by its amino acid nutritional requirements.