Can we become sick from our birds?

Can we as humans, become sick from our birds? I am not talking repiratory..more like crazy itching, mouth infections, etc....

What you're saying isn't sick. You're talking about allergies or even from giving them a kiss and their beak is dirty, of course... In general you can't get sick from a bird. I mean getting their diseases from what I understand. But allergies or sores from kisses yes.

Generally no, but there are exceptions. If a bird has Psittacosis "parrot fever" which is a serious bacterial infection, you CAN get it. That's why many vets recommend testing for it, because it can make humans very ill. It is seen more often in Budgies. Though it's curable, I've known someone to have had it before, and it made him VERY sick. Though it would be rare, human deaths have been reported. I'd imagine it could be dangerous for very young or very elderly or those with compromised immune systems.

Actually, there's a couple of more zoonotic diseases out there RG, but it does sound like Kimby might want to make an appointment with her allergist.....

1. Allergic alveolitis – also known as bird breeder’s lung. Alveolitis is caused by a hypersensitivity reaction to feather dander, dust and feces.

2. Campylobacteriosis – caused by Campylobacter jejuni. This organism may live in the small intestines of clinically ill or normal birds.

3. Colibacillosis – caused by Escherichia Coli Bacteria. These bacteria are normally found in the intestinal tracts of all animals.

4. Mycobacteriosis (Avian TB) – caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium avium. This organism is spread by feces-contaminated food and water.

5. Newcastle disease – caused by Paramyxovirus. This virus is shed through oral and respiratory secretions, and in the feces.

6. Psittacosis – also known as Chlamydiosis, and caused by Chlamydia psittaci. Organism is transmitted via feather dust and fecal material.

7. Salmonellosis – caused by various Salmonella Bacteria is transmitted through feather and fecal dust, as well as through the egg.


The H5N1-strain of avian influenza has been a concern over the last few years nearly all of the cases of human infection have involved the poultry (chicken and turkey) industry.

Yes. You can be allergic and as Weco posted above, there are a variety of diseases you can catch from them.

I actually had a uncommon and form of reoccurring strep as a kid and within 2 weeks of coming off antibiotics, I would have it again (this happened I think 13 times back to back, my parents had moral objections to a tonsillectomy). After pretty much every possibility of how I kept catching it was ruled out, their birds were all tested. Sure enough, the female amazon who essentially glued herself to me from the time I was a baby was a latent carrier. She was given antibiotics and I never got strep again. She herself has never been sick with even a respiratory infection in over 40 years, but she was making me sick and never clued anyone into that fact by being asymptomatic. I think that was a 'rare' instance and overall I think parrot to human transmission of disease is pretty rare, but our feathered friends can definitely make us sick! I do think with the modern bird trade, with all birds being captive bred now (as opposed to wild caughts) as well as routine vet screenings and better testing, a lot of the risk is gone. Allergies to birds, on the other hand, are pretty common and certain species have a higher allergy risk than others (the 'dusty' birds like cockatoos and grays).

Thanks for the comprehensive list Walt . I knew there were more zoonotic diseases from parrots, but didn't bother looking them all up. First thing I thought of was 'Bird Flu' then I thought, but the OP is thinking in terms of our pet parrots not wild birds or poultry

RavensGryf said:

Thanks for the comprehensive list Walt . I knew there were more zoonotic diseases from parrots, but didn't bother looking them all up. First thing I thought of was 'Bird Flu' then I thought, but the OP is thinking in terms of our pet parrots not wild birds or poultry

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Not to worry RG, it was an easy cut-n-paste, I keep my own database on a lot of stuff...just figured I'd save you from being set upon by a reader who might have considered your post not to have been complete enough.....apparently we have to now consider those eventualities and be apologized for by others for our apparent oversights.....not to worry though ! ! !

On another subject...do I owe you a reply to our conversation from last month? I ran across an unfinished reply that I totally forgot about.....

weco said:

Not to worry RG, it was an easy cut-n-paste, I keep my own database on a lot of stuff...just figured I'd save you from being set upon by a reader who might have considered your post not to have been complete enough.....apparently we have to now consider those eventualities and be apologized for by others for our apparent oversights.....not to worry though ! ! !

On another subject...do I owe you a reply to our conversation from last month? I ran across an unfinished reply that I totally forgot about.....

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Not complete enough LOL! Yeah, sometimes I'll give a real good answer, other times it's brief. You ALWAYS have your bases covered there Walt... You must have a huge database of previously researched subjects ready to be copy/pasted at the appropriate moment .

I think we were talking about central a/c? Then immediately after our correspondence, the a/c unit broke down! Blower motor went out. It was so much more efficient after they fixed it. We were talking about how dusty it gets in this room, but I believe I've found the reason for excessive dust production in the 11x18' room... http://www.parrotforums.com/general...-i-think-i-finally-found-source-all-dust.html

RavensGryf said:

You must have a huge database of previously researched subjects ready to be copy/pasted at the appropriate moment .

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Actually I've got a 500+ page finished, ready to print manuscript with some 300+ color images, that I got bored with, but the database was started back in the early 80s & is pretty much what I wrote the project from...I got bored when the trend in publishing went digital, maybe I'll update it & go digital too.....