Parrot Fever- A Serious Bird Disease.

avatar

Hello friends, it's a great pleasure to be writing about the safety and health of our pets again today, as usual, I am always excited about the comments and support I get over here, it shows we have people who are really passionate about the safety and health of their pet.
Today, I will be writing about parrot fever, those who have parrots as pets are really passionate about them just like other pet owners as well.


www.audubon.org

Parrot fever is a rare infection usually caused by a certain bacteria type known as Chlamydia psittaci, other names for parrot fever are psittacosis and parrot disease. Several cases of parrot fever usually go without being diagnosed, and this is because the symptoms are very similar to other illnesses.

Parrot fever can be transferred to humans through pet birds, parrots, chickens, turkeys, pigeons, ducks, parakeets, cockatiels, and in some cases, even wild birds. The process of transmission is from an infected animal to a human or from an infected human to another human. Let's take a look at these case scenarios where there is a great chance of transmission of parrot fever;

  • When humans handle an infected bird.
  • Breathing in the fine particles of an infected bird, like its feces or just any other body excretion.
  • If an infected bird bites you.
  • If an infected bird kisses you.
  • If you inhale droplets sprayed into the air through the cough of a sick person.

It is difficult to identify a bird with parrot fever since they do not show a lot of symptoms, they can even carry the bacteria for months before there is any form of displayed symptom at all, so the fact that your bird does not show a sign of being seriously ill does not mean they may not be infected. Infected birds would show these symptoms;

  • Puffy and swollen eyes: Most of the birds with psittacosis, usually experience swollen and puffy eyes, this happens as a result of the inflammation affecting the blood vessels in and around the eye.

  • Lethargy: This is a common symptom experienced by diseases affecting birds, species, and humans. The feelings of illness felt by the bird may stay all through the process of psittacosis, and can reduce their energy level, reducing their normal behavior of flying, playing, and even vocalizing.

  • Gradual/complete loss of appetite: When you realize that your bird is not eating as much, understand that weight loss would follow, and ensure to feed them with very essential nutrients at this point.

  • Fluffed feathers: When a bird has psittacosis, they feel cold and may begin to shiver, so at this point, they fluff its feathers in order to stay warm. Although birds also fluff their feathers in order to demonstrate emotions like; excitement, anxiety, anger, and happiness, it's not always about the disease.

  • Nasal Discharge: When your bird experiences discharge from its nasal cavity, it most likely indicates the presence of psittacosis, but birds also experience this when they have respiratory issues like labored breathing.

  • Diarrhea: The droppings of your bird may become really unusual, it may be runny or even discolored.

  • Weight loss.

  • Discharge from the nose or the eyes.

  • Sleepiness.

  • Discolored feces/urine, usually appearing in different shades of green.


pexels.com

When humans have the disease, they show symptoms like pneumonia or flu;

  • Diarrhea.
  • Chills or fever.
  • Joint/muscle pain.
  • Weakness of the body.
  • Fatigue.
  • Typically dry cough.
  • Vomiting/nausea.
  • Breath shortage.
  • Fatigue.
  • Cough.

I mentioned earlier that, parrot fever is very similar to other illnesses, some of those illnesses are; brucellosis, influenza, tuberculosis, pneumonia, Q fever, infective endocarditis, and tularemia. Of course, those who stand a chance of getting the infection are first people who have pets in their homes, those who work at the poultry, or those who have direct access to any type of bird. There are preventive measures of course to prevent the spread of the disease, let's get through some of them really quickly;

  • Make sure to separate sick birds from healthy ones.
  • Do not handle sick birds without appropriate protection.
  • Always treat infected birds with prescribed antibiotics at least for a month.
  • Always put on a mask and glove while cleaning the cage to prevent the further spread of infection.
  • Always make sure to properly wash your hands before and after attending to your birds.

Antibiotics are used for treating psittacosis, often changes happen immediately after treatment begins. Most often, people who get treated for psittacosis get healed and are often ready to get back to work very quickly, but some very few cases of the infection would result in complications, and possible compilations that could happen to humans who are infected with the disease are;

  • Lung disease
  • Inflammation of the heart valves.
  • Liver Inflammation.
  • Brain inflammation resulting in neurological issues.

Since psittacosis shows symptoms like other diseases, special tests would be required to diagnose its presence and in most cases, it is a blood test. The bacterium could be detected through a test done on the feces, spleen, kidney, liver, lungs, etc. Birds, showing clear symptoms of psittacosis are easier to diagnose than birds that are not showing any symptoms at all. I mentioned during the course of this post, that antibiotics are used to treat this disease, but birds cannot safely take the same type of antibiotics that are meant for humans, so vets would prescribe a different types of antibiotics that are safe and convenient for your pet.

References.

https://www.britannica.com/science/feline-distemper

https://health.hawaii.gov/docd/disease_listing/psittacosis-ornithosis-parrot-fever/

https://www.cdc.gov/pneumonia/atypical/psittacosis/hcp/index.html

https://www.thesprucepets.com/parrot-fever-psittacosis-symptoms-treatment-4148338

https://www.cdc.gov/pneumonia/atypical/psittacosis/about/diagnosis-treatment-complications.html

https://www.cdc.gov/pneumonia/atypical/psittacosis/about/diagnosis-treatment-complications.html

https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/psittacosis-parrot-fever

https://www.healthline.com/health/psittacosis#diagnosis



0
0
0.000
8 comments
avatar

Siempre se debe tener cuidado con todo tipo de animal, no solo los que tienen pelos, también con los que tienen plumas y escamas... La gran mayoría de ellos producen alergias o traen virus y bacterias que luego podrían original una enfermedad por infección bacteriana.
Un cordial saludo @futurekr

You should always be careful with all types of animals, not only those with hair, but also with those with feathers and scales... The vast majority of them produce allergies or bring viruses and bacteria that could then original a disease by bacterial infection.
Best regards @futurekr

0
0
0.000
avatar

Thanks for the additional information @wayuu-reg, I appreciate your time too, best regards.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Thanks for your contribution to the STEMsocial community. Feel free to join us on discord to get to know the rest of us!

Please consider delegating to the @stemsocial account (85% of the curation rewards are returned).

Thanks for including @stemsocial as a beneficiary, which gives you stronger support. 
 

0
0
0.000
avatar

Parrot fever is a serious disease that can affect birds of all ages. The symptoms of parrot fever include difficulty breathing, lethargy, lack of appetite, and a fever. If left untreated, parrot fever can be fatal.
Thank you for this informative content.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Good to know for those who have birds at home!
!1UP

0
0
0.000