Can My Pet Bird Make Me Or My Kids Sick?

Yes, your pet bird can potentially get you or your child sick. Infectious diseases that can be transmitted between humans and animals are called zoonotic. Unfortunately, birds can carry at lease five different serious illnesses. Not all birds carry disease but the potential is there so you must be cautious, especially with very young children, very old people and immune system compromised people. Immune compromised people would include organ transplant recipients, people in chemotherapy and HIV infected people.

If you think that you or your child has been exposed to or is suffering from any bird disease, your smart move is to consult your physician who can help pinpoint the cause and prescribe proper treatment. This article is for your additional information only. I feel that it is always smart to do your homework before you consult your physician. The more help you can offer your physician on his diagnosis of a problem the better.

First, to help avoid exposure to potential disease, cleanliness counts. To best protect yourself from getting sick, thoroughly wash your hands with running water and soap after contact with birds or their droppings.
Some people use rubber gloves and a mask when cleaning birdcages and habitats. Disinfect the sink after you wash bird toys, perches and food bowls. Do not share bites of food with your pet bird, if you might be swapping saliva. Common sense goes a long way in helping to avoid exposure.

The five diseases that can be carried by birds are Salmonella, Chlamydia psittaci , Avian Tuberculosis, HistoPlasmosis and Cryptoccus. I will explain each disease.

*Salmonella is a bacterial disease associated with many birds, especially chickens, baby chicks, and ducklings. Salmonella live in the intestinal tracts of some birds, humans and other animals. Salmonella can be found in the feces of some pets, and people can become infected if they do not wash their hands after contact with these feces. There are approximately 40,000 human cases of salmonellosis per year in the United States (not all contracted from birds) and about 600 of those infected die. Salmonella causes vomiting and diarrhea and sometimes fever. Salmonella infections usually resolve in 5-7 days and often do not require treatment unless the patient becomes severely dehydrated or the infection spreads from the intestines. Persons with severe diarrhea may require rehydration, often with intravenous fluids. Antibiotics are not usually necessary unless the infection spreads from the intestines, then it can be treated with ampicillin, gentamicin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, or ciprofloxacin.
*Chlamydia psittaci, often referred to as parrot fever or avian chlamydiosis (AC), is an important cause of systemic illness in birds kept as pets and in poultry. This disease has been isolated in 129 bird species, and parakeets, parrots, macaws, cockatiels, pigeons, doves, and mynah birds are the most likely carriers. Birds may carry this disease for years without showing signs of it. Birds that show the disease may have a respiratory infection, eye discharge, lethargy and diarrhea. Human infection with C. psittaci usually occurs through the inhalation of aerosolized contaminated bird urine, respiratory secretions, or dried feces of infected birds. Other sources of exposure can include bird bites, mouth-to-beak contact, and handling the plumage and tissues of infected birds. Treatment includes Tetracyclines are the drugs of choice for treating psittacosis in humans
*Avian Tuberculosis can affect all species of birds. The signs of Avian TB in birds are diarrhea, dull plumage, lethargy and gradual wasting away, even if the birds appetite is good. Avian TB can be transmitted to humans via ingestion or inhalation of contaminated feces. The contaminated feces can persist in the environment for many years. When cleaning a potentially sick bird, it is best to wear rubber gloves, goggles and a face mask. Always wash arms up to elbows with antiseptic soap even after wearing gloves. People are generally very resistant to these infections.
*HistoPlasmosis is a fungus that can be found in earth rich with bird droppings. Transmission to human can occur when they breathe in dust loaded with the fungus. This disease can cause a short term lung infection. This infection generally clears up by itself as long as the infected person has normal immune responses. Fungus killing medicines may be used if the infection is stubborn.
* Cryptococcus is found in the droppings of wild birds (such as pigeons). When dried bird droppings are stirred up, this can make dust containing Cryptococcus go into the air and be breathed by people. Pets, such as dogs and cats, can also get sick with cryptococcosis from this dust, but people do not get cryptococcosis from dogs and cats. Most people do not get sick with cryptococcosis, but some people, especially those immune compromised with HIV infection are at danger. For these people, cryptococcosis can cause serious symptoms of brain and spinal cord disease, such as headaches, dizziness, sleepiness, and confusion.

Is my budgie parakeet sick?

I’m not going to lie and say he’s the best taken care of bird in the world. I am unsure whether or not the cover has been regularly taken off and on.

Anyway, my budgie parakeet is around six or seven years old, a green male. He has no mate, and is not incredibly friendly. However, he is usually a noisy little thing, and he hasn’t been so outgoing lately. Today I uncovered him to find him almost falling apart. His feathers are an incredible mess, and he keeps on constantly rubbing his head, eyes, fluffing up and preening himself constantly. I ran water, because he usually chirps when I do so. He showed some recognition, but he didn’t even bother to sing. I sat in front of his cage, and instead of running up to the front of the cage and trying to bite me, he sat with his back to me and ignored me. He appears to be drinking, but I am not sure if he has been eating lately.

my parakeet is sick? HELP!!!!!?

1 of my parakeets seems really sick once when i was feeding her she slipped out of the cage and started flying when she got down into the cage she starting panting and having a segur she seems unhealthy its hard for her to walk she is always ruffled and has her head tucked in her wing she dosent drink i feed them seeds fresh fruit and tap water di i nedd to add vitamins to her water? altogether i have 5 parakeets in a small cage so im looking to find a big cheap one but now ther in a small one is it ok for her to be with the other ones? yesterday i took her to emergency in sf but the doctors werent good they wanted to test her cuz they think she has infection but it puts her life on the line so i didnt cuz they were unprofessional the only other vet i know is farther away but hes great so ill take her

Is my parakeet sick or is it just the season change?

ok i have two male keets and they r both really health but recently one of them (gray one) started shivering and the feathers on his head are thinning. At first I thought the shivering was because they sit in my window which is old and not well insulated so I put an electric heater in my room and keep it warm for them and the other one (yellow one) isnt having any problems but the gray one is still shivering and losing more feathers on his head, but hes fine otherwise. He eats like normal, is loud happy like normal and is just as active as always, so I’m just wondering if hes sick or having a hard time adjusting to the season change?
took him too the pet store for advice and the lady there said he seems to be just moulting (didnt know they did that this time of year) and said just to lay down some white paper in the bottom of the cage just to make sure its not mites, but said he looks just fine. Thanks though!

Is my parakeet sick, She is in one spot all the time all puffed up?

Hi my parakeet is puffed up, sleeping more, she is in one spot all the time. Sometimes she goes with the other two birds. She was puffed up all day. except when we pick her up then the puffiness goes away. When we put her back in the cage she is puffed up again. She is eating, and drinking water the same, and her droppings are green and watery. Is there anything wrong with my bird? I’m just worried about her puffing up all day today.
How can parakeets get viral infections? And can it transfer to people?

Is my parakeet sick? URGENT!?

I’ve had my parakeet for a little over a week, and up until last night he was fine. I thought maybe I wasn’t feeding him enough, so I gave him a full feed bowl for overnight. But he didn’t eat any of it. This morning he’s acting worse. He’s always fluffed up, he closes his eyes alot, and he’s pretty lethargic. He lets me touch him, and I can feel the bone in his breast. Quite a bit. So I looked it up and that means he’s starving, right? So why wont he eat? Anyways, I put some spray millet in his cage and he ate some of that…. Until last night he was always chirping, flying around, and eating. So what’s wrong?
What can I do to help my birdy?
DO NOT TELL ME TO GO TO THE VET.
I’m going to just as soon as my mom wakes up so she can take me.
But I need to know what to do until then!
I’m so worried….:(
He died about a half hour after I posted this question… My mom was just calling the emergency vet when he started flapping around like he was having a seizure, and then he died….:’(

Is my Parakeet sick or just old?

I have a parakeet who is about 6 or 7 years old. just last night i noticed that his/her (it’s an albino so we don’t know the gender but i like to pretend she is a girl) left eye didn’t have any feathers around it. the skin was pink and her eyelid was pink (it’s usualy grey). she was sneezing. her poops are wetter then usualother then that she seems normal. is she OK? what can i give her? she hasn’t gotten the best of care over the years as i was quite young when i got her so i never got in the habit of good care… I was thinking of giving her bird safe fruits/veggies to boost her immune system but i think that that might aggravate her wet poops… what do i do?

Is my boyfriend’s Parakeet sick?!?

My boyfriend and I bought two parakeets a couple of days ago. Mine (Feather) seems pretty normal except she doesn’t speak at all unless my boyfriend’s bird (Zim) is around. Zim is another story though. He speaks all the time but he sneezes and his feces is runny, unlike all the other parakeet’s. Is there something wrong with him? Should we take him to a vet or are there things that we, alone, can do to help him? I think he might have a cold? Oh, he also closes his eyelids like he is really sleepy, he might just be tired though.. but I’m not a parakeet expert, you can’t blame me for being worried =]

Is my parakeet sick? What do you think?

He is very puffed up. He looks like he is gaining weight but very dramatically. He sleeps a lot too. We have a female with him that can be very aggressive sometimes so we split them up by putting a peice of cardboard in between them and she still ries to get over on his side. What is wrong with the male parakeet?

http://s283.photobucket.com/albums/kk309/milkshakebandit/?action=view&current=PHOT0041.jpg

http://s283.photobucket.com/albums/kk309/milkshakebandit/?action=view&current=PHOT0045.jpg

Is my parakeet sick? She is all fluffed up.?

Okay so the last two days my female parakeet hasn’t been acting right. She is fluffed up and is very tired. She isn’t herself. She won’t even come out of her cage and she usually loves coming out. She doesn’t seem to be very hungry. She has a male mate with her and he is preening her a lot more. She also has been making very funny noises at night like she’s hiccupping. Are these signs of a cold? Could something else be wrong? I won’t be able to take her to a vet until Monday. Is there anything I can do right now to comfort her??? =/

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