Bird fanciers hypersensitivity
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My husband has kept a parakeet in his home office for about 2 years at this residence,we also were given another about a year ago, they both were in his office. He started noticing about 2 or 3 months ago that he was feeling very tired, then about a month ago he was complaining about being out of breath after walking and having to stop after only walking a short distance.He went to the hospital about 3 weeks ago and after many tests and blood work, they wanted to know if we had birds, that he had an infection. Next week he is going in for a Bronchoscopy. The place we bought almost 2 years ago has a big red barn ,among other things, past residents had chickens, maybe even pidgons beacuse we had to do alot of clean up. There are many pidgons that roost on the rafters of the barn, ofcorse they make a mess in the loft, we also have barn swallows that returne every year to build their mud nests on the outside of the barn. We know that the parakeets could of been the reason the doctors are leaning toward bird fanciers,we found homes for them, but can the outside birds, past or present, be a problem, inside the barn, or outside?
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Bird fanciers lung is a type of allergic alveolitis (alveoli are the air sacs in the lungs and -itis means inflamed). It is an inflammation of the parts of the lung were oxygen is taken into the blood, Breathlessness and tiredness are common symptoms, many also loose weight. The main agent that causes the allergy is the bloom on the feathers (the dust that comes off which keeps the feathers sliding nicely over each other). It comes from the preen gland by the birds backside and is spread over the feathers with the beak. Most good quality flying birds keep their feathers in good condition, resulting in lots of bloom. Chicken on the other hand are usually very scruffy and allergy to chickens is uncommon. I dont think that alveolitis from a parakete is likely to be made worse by casual contact with chicken. Outdoor birds are generally too far away to be a problem. If the diagnosis is allergic alveolitis further exposure to the bloom (or dust from dried droppings) can make the disease worse. It takes a long time to remove all the bloom from a house, and if a test is needed to see if the birds are the cause it is better to move the person than the bird (an excuse for a holiday away from home for 2 weeks).
Occasionally infection can spread from birds to people. The bird is usually ill (off its seed, green stools, lethargic). The infection is called psitticosis and is uncommon in birds reared in captivity. The disease is a type of pneumonia for which there are special blood tests.
A bronchoscopy can detect alveolitis, which seems the way your doctors are thinking.
The link below has more information.
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This sounds like what my Dad id in hospital for. He has a Cockatiel he lets loose. If he is diagnosed with this problem, what does he need to do if he wants to keep the bird, or does he need to get it a new home for his own good. We have just found out this could be a reason for ill health.
Thankyou.
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any advice would be gratefully taken. I am his Daughter and am worried. Thanx.
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Its important to validate the diagnosis. The easiest way is to measure lung function at home and then after 2 - 3 weeks completely away from home as well as measruring antigens. Further tests may be required. If avian alveolitis is the definite diagnosis then much the best solution is to avoid all exposure to droppings and bloom. This can be achieved for birds kept outside by respiratory protection (masks) and protective clothing but is unlikely to be achieved for a bird kept indoors. Avian antigens can remain for many months after a bird has been removed so testing is better done by remving the person rather than the bird.
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