Can you get a disease from a pet bird?

Question

A couple of weeks ago we got our 10 yr old son a green cheek conure. The conure is 3 mths old and is very sweet. We don't let the bird walk around the house, he only stays in the cage or on top of it. All my kids are always playing with him. We try and keep the cage as clean as possible and we change his water every day. The bird cage is located between the kitchen and living room. The bird does make a little mess with his food but mainly it is when he takes a bath he dips his whole body in the water and then shakes it off from his body which ends up splashing everywhere. My question is when my little kids get splashed with the bird's bath water or walk on the wet floor can they get sick from it. Also are there any know diseases that pet birds can give to humans? My 10 yr old recently suddenly got a fever with no other symptoms. His Dr. thinks it's a viral infection and has put him on antibiotics. I'm wondering if this is related to the bird. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Answer 1

There are certain disease that can be transmitted between animals and humans called zoonotic diseases. Here is a website that has descriptions on some bird related ones.

http://www.oregonvma.org/petowners/zoono...

Answer 2

yes they do and her is a web-sight to help keep your family safe.

Answer 3

YES! You can also get infection from your pet bird if any infectious virus or bacteria is surviving in pet's body.

Answer 4

im not sure i have 2 budgies who occasionaly fly around a friend told me you can get sick from them around food and things.... but i dont see how my birds dont go too far and then there back on top of there cage... there is things yo can buy too put around the cage so the water dont fly out.... it looks like a giant shower cap and you put it around the outside of the cage it goes pretty far up its goes around the bottom and up some........ while bathing... but i would like too know more about this  issue myself.... thanks for bringing it up i hope your little boy feels better and the best too all of you......

Answer 5

Put simply the answer is 'Yes', humans can acquire diseases from birds. Rather than misinform you might I suggest that you look up "Zoonotic Diseases" and see how you get on.

Answer 6

Hello, thank you for your question. In general, pet birds have the potential to harbor many different "bugs"--bacteria, fungi, and viruses to name a few. The bacteria birds can carry include but are not limited to salmonella and chlamydia psitacci (the cause of psittacosis). Viruses do infect wild birds (e.g. western equine encephalitis virus, eastern equine encephalitis virus, etc..) but are rarely seen in pet birds. If your pet bird came from a reputable dealer and you were able to observe the bird for at least a 30 day quarantine period without noticing any strange behavior from the bird, most likely the viral infection has nothing to do with the bird. However, I noticed you mention that the doctor thinks it's a "viral" infection but gave him antibiotics--this is not the treatment for a viral infection unless he had symptoms of a superimposed bacterial infection (i.e. green snot or sputum). I hope your son feels better and I hope this helped some.