Can you catch anything from lovebirds?

[sally1974]

I was told because they are from the parrot family you can catch things. Is this true or just someone being over cautious? Thanks

[Marrie]

There are a few things you can catch from parrots, the chief one being psittacosis - but that is a pretty serious illness in birds too. A healthy bird is not a health risk, as long as hygiene is kept up with.

[ChesterHannah2010]

i read psittacosis is transmitted from doves so if a infected dove makes contact with a parrot then it can get infected and then the owner can get the illness too.

[mask]

spam ^^ ? lol

[Roscoe's Mom]

The World Parrot Trust published a PDF on zoonotic diseases common to pet birds. Here is the list:

1) psittacosis (chlamydiosis)
2) salmonellosis
3) campylobacteriosis
4) collibacilosis
5) Newcastle disease
6) allergic alveolitis (I fail to see how this is a zoonotic disease since allergies are not contagious, but it is on the list)
7) mycobacteriosis

That said, I have enjoyed many birds over the past 8 years and none of them has made me sick. These diseases are relatively hard for people to catch and seem mainly to affect the immunodeficient. When in doubt, you can always use Avian Biotech to check your bird for diseases. They are low priced and prompt, and very accurate.

[Marrie]

spam ^^ ? lol

Ha, yes, it was. They are getting trickier now... they keep posting "real looking" posts if you're just skimming. If you see any like that feel free to press the report button.

[mask]

Spam with brains and parrot photos lol. I had to put a "lol" at the end incase the person was been serious but maybe a little wacko!

[Marrie]

Heh, ah yeah they are getting smart about it. They create the account now, post like 4-8 times sort of legit posts with all the spam in their signatures and pics pulled off google images, then never log in again. But at least they are less intrusive than the spam bombs we got before.