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

Psittacosis is a rare zoonosis that can cause severe disease and adverse outcomes during pregnancy. We identified a previously elusive case of psittacosis causing premature delivery and infant death by next-generation RNA sequencing of postmortem tissues. Hypothesis-free pathogen detection in postmortem specimens can increase the yield of epidemiologic and cause-of-death studies.