Test results clarify strain of avian disease; no bacteria or additional cases found in puffin habitat at Point Defiance Zoo; precautionary testing planned at Point Defiance Park
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium and Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department are conducting expanded environmental testing as a precaution following the identification of an uncommon avian organism in three puffins at the zoo in July 2026.
Additional test results from three tufted puffins that died earlier this summer at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium clarified the bacterium that likely caused the birds’ deaths. There have been no additional infected birds identified since then, and further environmental testing in this habitat in early August did not detect the presence of the bacteria. Public health and veterinary officials will continue precautionary testing. The risk to the public remains low.
Initial testing in July had indicated that the puffin deaths were caused by avian psittacosis, an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Chlamydia psittaci. Further testing clarified the bacterium was in fact a related, rare avian Chlamydia abortus strain. While avian Chlamydia abortus can infect humans, there have been no identified human cases associated with this situation.
“Our puffin colony continues to be closely monitored and are receiving attentive care from our veterinary team,” said Dr. Karen Wolf, Head Veterinarian at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. “We’re working closely with our public health and veterinary partners to better understand this unusual finding, and we’ll reopen the puffin habitat to the public when we are confident it is appropriate to do so.”
Zoo and public health officials continue to investigate how the puffins became infected. While we don’t know how the bacteria entered the puffin habitat, exposure from a wild bird is a possible source.
As part of that investigation, additional environmental testing will be conducted at Point Defiance Park and Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium to help determine whether the organism is present elsewhere in the surrounding environment.
Members of the public may see representatives from Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, and Washington State Department of Health wearing personal protective equipment, such as masks and gloves, and collecting environmental samples in Point Defiance Park in September. The use of this protective equipment is to protect staff directly handling bird feces; the risk to the public remains low, and both Point Defiance Park and Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium will remain open to the public.
Chlamydia psittaci can infect humans, typically when people breathe in dust contaminated with bird secretions or droppings. People can also be infected through direct contact with birds. Human illness typically consists of symptoms like cough, fever, headache, and muscle aches; severe pneumonia and other severe complications can occur. There are so few documented cases of humans infected with avian Chlamydia abortus that the routes of human infection are unconfirmed, but exposure to bird secretions or droppings is suspected as a possible route of infection.
“This is an unusual finding, and we are working to learn as much as we can about where this strain may have come from,” said Dr. James Miller, Health Officer at Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department. “The additional environmental testing is a precautionary step that will help us better understand the circumstances and continue to protect public health.”
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium and Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department continue to work closely with Parks Tacoma, Washington State Department of Health, Washington State Department of Agriculture, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Laboratory testing of the environmental samples will be performed at the University of Georgia Infectious Diseases Laboratory in the College of Veterinary Medicine, which has particular expertise in Chlamydia bacteria of companion animals, exotic animals, and wildlife.
As an additional precaution, zoo staff will also conduct further testing of some healthy birds in the puffin habitat and further environmental testing inside the exhibit to help ensure the avian Chlamydia abortus bacteria are no longer detectable.
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium and Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department will provide updates if there are significant new findings.
Media Contacts:
Tessa Miller, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium
253-331-5858 or tessa.miller@pdza.org
Kenny Via, Tacoma-Pierce County Department of Health
(253) 720-2606 or kvia@tpchd.org
