Five Europeans have died in an avian chlamydia outbreak that has spooked health chiefs. World Health Organization (WHO) officials issued an urgent alert over an 'unusual' rise in humans getting psittacosis in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Sweden. The flu-like illness, nicknamed parrot fever, is caused by a type of chlamydia rife in birds. It is different to the strain responsible for the human STI, and is not spread sexually. Psittacosis typically triggers mild symptoms like headaches and a cough. Yet it can lead to severe pneumonia and meningitis in severe cases. Surveillance data shows rates of psittacosis, sometimes...