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Some of the most commonly known diseases in birds Let's start with definitions: 1. Zoonotic disease: Any disease that can be transmitted from animals. Normally they exist in animals naturally, and don't harm them, but in people they can cause illness 2. Infectious disease: Disease which is transferred from person to person, or from organism to organism... this is caused by a microrganism, which is either bacteria, viruses or fungus. Most diseases of all types are more prone to cause illness in people who are immuno-compromised. Immunosupressed people are those whose immune systems are weakened. Things that can weaken your immune system: 1. AIDS 1. Being a child or being very old 2. Chemotherapy for cancer 3. Pregnancy 4. Immunosurpressant drugs (like Steroids or antirejection drugs in transplant patients) 5. Illness, surgery, stress So on to the diseases! TUBERCULOSIS Birds get a version of TB, called mycobacterium avian. Less than 1% of wild birds have it. It also naturally lives in the soil, and is active there for up to 7 years. You need a specific compound to get it out of the soil. It's the most common agent for infection in birds. Parrots who get it can have tubercules in many organs; liver, spleen, bone marrow, lungs. They can also get a paratuberculosis in the intestinal tract. It's spread by secretions, like sneezing, or in bird droppings. However, humans get this one from walking around on the ground, where it lives naturally. Humans can get it, and in humans, it's called MAC, Microavian Complex. But who is at risk for getting it? HIV+ and AIDS patients. Rarely immunocompromised kids will contract it. There is NO documentated case where a bird has directly transferred it to humans, although, theoretically, it could be possible. Mycobacterium Avian is treatable, both in people and in birds. Mycobacterium tuberculosis, this is the good old TB I see at MY workplace all the time. It's uncommon in birds, but if they have it, it appears as tumors on the skin around the bird's eyes and nares. THEY get it from close contract with infected TB patients. TB is spread by what we in the old medical biz call droplet transmission. An infected person coughs or sneezes and sends the bacteria floating into the air to be breathed by others...or their birds. I won't go into all of the fine stuff about treatment or anything like that. It's treatable in both birds and humans. It's not really an easy disease to catch, either...you have to live with an infected person over a long period of time to catch it, unless you are immunocompromised in some way. So, in a nutshell, this is one that you can give to your bird, but your bird is not going to be giving this one to you. ASPERGILLUS (fungus) Fungus is everywhere. It requires a break in the skin, or a compromised immune system for it really to effect you. People and birds contract the disease from the environment. Your bird CANNOT give the disease to you. AND the ever popular: CLAMYDOPHILA, more commonly known as Psittacosis, or Parrot Fever! This is a bacteria, and it is excreted in an infected birds droppings and nasal discharge. Birds with Psittacosis can show absolutely no symptoms of infection. In birds, the incubation time from exposre to signs of infection is about 3 days to a few weeks. Parrot fever has been isolated in over 100 species of birds. Most common of the caged birds is in parakeets, cockatiels, lovebirds, pigeons, canaries and finches. Symptoms in birds, if they show any, can include lethargy, weakness, fluffed feathers, and yellow or green urates (that part of the droppings are are usually white.) The Centers of Disease Control, from the years 1998-2004, only had 146 cases reported. It is quite possible that the actual number is much, much higher. Most cases come from exposure to pet birds, and handling of birds by poultry workers, vets, and zoo workers. It's passed to humans from mouth to beak contact, handling bird plumage, and can even be passed from human to human. Incubation time is between 5-14 days. And here comes the good news, the symptoms are flu like. Most people get it, figure they have the flu or a virus and recover quite handily from it without ever knowing they had it. A very tiny minority of people who get it, get sick enough to require hospitalization and get a definative diagnosis. BIRD FLU Without going into all of the virus definitions and all of the complicated mumbo-jumbo. Bird Flu is NOT in North America at this time, so there is NO CHANCE of you or your parrot getting it if you live in North America. The Bird Flu has not yet mutated to where it passes from person to person, anyway. Currently, the only way those folks who live in areas where the Bird Flu is present have contracted it is by direct contact with infected birds or eggshells, or by contact with equipment that has handled birds or eggshells. Once again, let me reiterate it, it's NOT in North America at this time, so you and your bird have 0% chance of getting it if you live in North America. POX You cannot get various bird pox from your birds. The reason it's named chicken pox in humans is because the pox resembles a chickpea. You can't get it from chicken 
STAPH It's a normal skin bacteria in both humans and birds. Pet parrots have a lot of staph on their skin, more so than birds in open flight. No one is quite sure why that is...it doesn't appear to be dangerous to either us or birds, unless we are immunosupressed in some way and have a break in our skin. GIARDIA Human to human transmission is possible. Giradia Pssitacine does not transmit to mammals. Cockateils and budgies are more prone to this disease. HISTOPLASMOSIS(another fungal mold sort of thing) Most people who get this disease have no symptoms, but it can appear as a lung infection. It's fatal mostly in HIV or cancer patients. You get it from the DROPPINGS of wild infected birds or bats. You cannot get it from your pet birds. WEST NILE VIRUS People over 50 are at greater risk for this one. The symptoms are severe in only 1 of 150 infected people. The severe symptoms include paralysis. 20% experience mild symptoms, and almost 80% will suffer no signs at all. It is spread by mosquito bites ONLY. You cannot get it from touching an infected bird. The people most at risk for West Nile are laboratory workers who deal with the organism, and outdoor workers. It is preventable by wearing insect repellent. This is another one you cannot get from your pet birds. PIGEON BREEDERS LUNG,or birdkeepers lung This is not a disease, this is an allergic reaction to the bird dust, fungus and mold. Only 1 in 10,000 people will develop this. Unfortunately, the only way to cure this is to remove what is causing the allergy. MITES, WORMS, FLUKES... your birds might get them, but you cannot get those from your birds. So as long as your bird's nose isn't running (and we all know that's a sign of illness in birds, and I don't know about YOU people, I don't kiss my family members when they're sick, either!) it's perfectly safe to kiss your bird. By no means is this a comprehensive list, but these things I just listed are the big ones. We're apparently all pretty safe from our birdies  Notes taken from 2007 Parrot Festival in Houston Texas Speaker: Avian Veterinarian Dr. Natalie Antinoff |
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