Best Ways to Prevent and Treat Parrot Fever

Parrot fever is an infection which is caused by a specific type of bacteria called Chlamydia psittaci. This infection is also known as parrot disease or psittacosis. As you can see from the name, this disease is acquired from birds, however, parrots are not the only culprits.

There might be some wild animals or pet birds that carry the infection and even pass it to humans. Birds can also be infected by some diseases. Check some of them in bacterial diseases in birds.

There are some countries that have reported parrot fever, such as Argentina, Australia, and England. However, this disease may be found somewhere else birds are kept as pets or in a large confined populations.

How do you know that a bird is infected by parrot fever? There are some common symptoms that are experienced by the infected bird, such as shivering or having difficulty in breathing, discharge from the eyes and nose, diarrhea, discolored droppings (urine or feces) in various shades of green, weight los, lethargy, sleepiness and even loss of appetite.

For humans, there are some symptoms of parrot fever that are associated with flu, such as nausea and vomiting, muscle and joint pain, dry cough, fever and chills and many more. So, if you have a pet bird at home, you should be very careful.

How to Treat Parrot Fever for both Humans and Birds?

If you are infected by parrot fever, then you should take an action. There are some ways you can do to treat parrot fever. Let’s take a look at each of the ways.

• Antibiotics

Antibiotics, such as tetracycline and doxycycline are considered effective to treat parrot fever. However, if you plan to address these two antibiotics, make sure you consult with your doctor first. Your doctor may sometimes choose other types or classes of antibiotics to treat you.

Very young children couldn’t use those two types of antibiotics. Instead, they may be treated with azithromycin.

• Antibiotics (for the infected birds)

Before the treatment, your pet bird will be diagnosed with blood tests and chest x-rays. The treatment is similar to humans, which is using antibiotics.

For the infected birds, try to consult with the vet, and your vet may prescribe doxycycline. This is an antibiotic in the tetracycline class o drugs. If you have any sick birds, try to bring them to the vet so that the illness can be investigated. Remember, parrot fever can infect without any noticeable symptoms.

Giving antibiotics could be dangerous for your pets. Dogs, for instance, cannot be given antibiotics as it may give some side effects of giving antibiotics to your pet dog. Consult with your vet all the time before giving any thing to your pet.

What are the best Ways to Prevent Parrot Fever?

I am sure all of you don’t want to be infected with parrot fever, and don’t want your pet birds to be infected too. So, it is very important to take some preventive measures.

People say prevention is better than cure. The question is how we do that. Let’s take a look at these preventive measures you can do:

• Avoid handling sick birds – sick bird may bring some bacteria or virus that might be contagious both to you and your pet birds.
• Avoid breathing in any dust from dried bird droppings, feathers or dust from the cage.
• Isolate sick birds or the new birds that you just purchase.
• Treat infected birds with proper antibiotics for at least a month. Talk to your vet further about this.
• Clean the cages with appropriate disinfectants. Bacteria can live for several months in the shed feathers and droppings, so regular cleaning will be great to prevent any bacteria or virus.
• Wear masks whenever you clean the cage. This is done to prevent any infection.
• Wash hands after tending to birds. Alternatively, you can also wear gloves so that you can avoid direct contact with the birds.

Bottom Line

Psittacosis or parrot fever is contagious to humans. Handling an infected bird will cause its owner to be infected as well. This disease can be spread through inhalation, so don’t get too close with your birds.

Besides, try to increase ventilation in the room where your bird is kept. You can do this by opening the windows or turning on the fan.

If you wish to have a pet bird at home, don’t miss reading some common problems of birds, such as symptoms of stressed birds and some tips on how to prevent feather mites in birds.