Zoonoses in pet birds: review and perspectives

Abstract

Pet birds are a not-so-well known veterinarian’s clientship fraction. Bought individually or in couples, as families often do (which is a lucrative business for pet shops or local breeders) or traded (sometimes illegally) for their very high genetic or exotic value, these birds, commonly canaries, parakeets or parrots, are regularly sold at high prices. These animals, however, are potential carriers and/or transmitters of zoonotic diseases. Some of them could have an important impact on human health, like chlamydophilosis, salmonellosis or even highly pathogenic avian influenza A H5N1. This review paper, although non exhaustive, aims at enlightening, by the description of several cases of bird-human transmission, the risks encountered by bird owners, including children. Public health consequences will be discussed and emphasis will be made on some vector-borne diseases, known to be emergent or which are underestimated, like those transmitted by the red mite Dermanyssus gallinae. Finally, biosecurity and hygiene, as well as prevention guidelines will be developed and perspectives proposed.

A survey on gram-negative bacteria in saffron finches (Sicalis flaveola) from illegal wildlife trade in Brazil

“…However, in subsequent years, other researchers identified different enterobacteria in the digestive system in studies involving various species of symptomatic and asymptomatic birds (LOIKO et al, 2007;XENOULIS et al, 2010;BRACONARO et al, 2015). It is likely that maintaining captive birds can modify the intestinal microbiota of passerines, favoring the colonization by gram-negative bacteria (MATTES et al, 2005;BOSERET et al, 2013). The average life span of birds seen in our study was 313 days and perhaps this long period in captivity contributed to the horizontal spread of these microorganisms from the feces of carriers.…”

Do carotenoid‐based ornaments entail resource trade‐offs? An evaluation of theory and data

“…Better methods for measuring immune response is a focus of the growing field of eco-immunology (Demas, Zysling, Beechler, Muehlenbein, & French, 2011;Graham et al, 2011;Martin, Weil, & Nelson, 2006), and we urge ecologists, animal behaviourists and evolutionary biologists alike that study carotenoid coloration to adopt new and better techniques for assessing immune system function. We also suggest that information in the avian and poultry disease literature (Boseret, Losson, Mainil, Thiry, & Saegerman, 2013;Dorrestein, 2009;Joseph, 2003;Lister & Houghton-Wallace, 2012;Pattison, McMullin, Bradbury, & Alexander, 2008) is an important resource for finding pathogens that can be dosed to subjects in a controlled setting. Information from songbird veterinary studies may be particularly applicable to studies that keep captive populations of passerines commonly used in tests of carotenoidbased signalling, like zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata), European greenfinches (Carduelis chloris) or house finches.…”

Occurrence of gastrointestinal parasites in wild animals in State of Paraná, Brazil

“…In addition to the species found in this experiment, Costa et al (2010) also listed Balantidium coli and Cryptococcus neoformans having a great importance in Brazil. It is emphasized that bird breeders, veterinarians and people who have contact with wild birds must take precautions when handling these animals, always wearing personal protection equipment (PPE) to avoid infection and possible zoonotic agents (Boseret et al 2013).…”