Hello again, my name is Harley and I have a green cheek conure called blue. My mum was concerned that I would contract a life threatening disease from being exposed to my birds faeces and that I could face long term permanent lung damage from just being around my bird. I change his paper every day morning and night so I am never really exposed to his faeces but is it something I should be concerned about. Is it common to contract a dangerous disease from a parrot?
How common is it to catch a lung disease from my bird.
- Thread starter HarleyBub
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In short, it is possible to catch a disease from a parrot, but it is vanishingly rare. There is a disease called psittacosis which can be passed onto humans, obviously provided that a bird has it in the first place, and the bird would have to be very obviously sick and actively shedding lots of the virus for it to be contagious. I've just had my princess parrot treated for it, and I had a GCC some years ago who had it, and neither of them passed it on to me. In my almost 50 years of being around birds, some of whom may have had it years ago without my knowledge, I have never had so much as a sniffle. Upon my telling my doctor back in oh about 2014 or so that my GCC had it, he told me if I caught it he wanted to make me a case study because he'd never had a patient with psittacosis ever.
Another condition called "bird fancier's lung" can be caused by an allergic reaction to proteins in droppings or feathers, or even from feathers in bedding if you're VERY unlucky. But this condition is again pretty rare, and more commonly afflicts those who work with large numbers of birds, generally pigeon fanciers or occasionally pet shop employees who may be exposed to many birds, rather than just a domestic pet or two. Not unknown, but really not common in a setting like yours. It's good to be aware of these things so that you could advise your doctor in case you do happen to develop symptoms, but I honestly don't think you have a great deal to worry about
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Thank you so much for your response. This is very helpful. Have a wonderful dayIn short, it is possible to catch a disease from a parrot, but it is vanishingly rare. There is a disease called psittacosis which can be passed onto humans, obviously provided that a bird has it in the first place, and the bird would have to be very obviously sick and actively shedding lots of the virus for it to be contagious. I've just had my princess parrot treated for it, and I had a GCC some years ago who had it, and neither of them passed it on to me. In my almost 50 years of being around birds, some of whom may have had it years ago without my knowledge, I have never had so much as a sniffle. Upon my telling my doctor back in oh about 2014 or so that my GCC had it, he told me if I caught it he wanted to make me a case study because he'd never had a patient with psittacosis ever.
Another condition called "bird fancier's lung" can be caused by an allergic reaction to proteins in droppings or feathers, or even from feathers in bedding if you're VERY unlucky. But this condition is again pretty rare, and more commonly afflicts those who work with large numbers of birds, generally pigeon fanciers or occasionally pet shop employees who may be exposed to many birds, rather than just a domestic pet or two. Not unknown, but really not common in a setting like yours. It's good to be aware of these things so that you could advise your doctor in case you do happen to develop symptoms, but I honestly don't think you have a great deal to worry about
You're most welcome, @HarleyBub, I'm glad I could be of help! 💝
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