Ornithosis is a virus infection transmitted primarily from infected poultry to man. It is differentiated in name from psittacosis in that it is transmitted from non-psittacine birds (psittacine referring to the beak characteristic). The fact that ornithosis can be a rapidly developing and incapacitating disease was established in Corsicana, Texas, at a poultry processing plant in April 1954. Forty-eight employees, out of a total of 120, all of whom either worked in the picking or eviscerating section of the plant became severely ill between April 8 and 12. Thirty-four patients admitted to the Navarro County Memorial Hospital form the basis for this report. In 15 of the number, radiographic examinations of the chest were made. Etiology The causative organism of ornithosis is classified as a virus, its generic name being Miyagawanella psittaci. In size, however, it lies between a true virus and Rickettsia. It can be stained by Castaneda's and Macchiavello's methods for Rickettsia The elementary bodies measu...