Hi all, Ive been at the hospital having tests and results are due back on Tuesday.
I ran out of dust masks which i use when scraping the dove loft daily. Anyhow, now I have an horrible cough, aching chest and back, The Dr thinks it may be psittacosis which I caught 4 years ago after cleaning the chook house in windy weather!! So Ive read up on the subject and found this article:
Apparantly when humans catch it from dander dust etc, we show no signs of illness, which is why they call it "walking Pnuemonia" until we start coughing etc.
The disease is treatable and we recover quickly with Meds.
So always wear your masks when cleaning the cages etc!!
Chlamydia psittaci infects wild and domestic birds and poultry. Birds which contract the infection include parrots, canaries, pigeons, chickens, ducks, and turkeys. The time between exposure to Chlamydia psittaci and the onset of illness in caged birds ranges from three days to several weeks. Sick birds show signs of:
sleepiness,
shivering,
weight loss,
breathing difficulties,
diarrhea.
Birds can have a latent infection. That means they appear healthy and do not show any symptoms now but they can show symptoms later. These infected birds carrying the Chlamydia psittaci bacteria may shed the organism intermittently or sometimes continuously for weeks or months. Stress associated with nutritional deficiencies, overcrowding, breeding, egg-laying and prolonged transport may cause birds with a latent infection to shed infectious agents. When shedding occurs, the infected birds excrete the bacteria in the feces and nasal discharges and can remain infective for several months.
Humans most commonly catch the disease from infected birds by inhaling the bacteria from shed feathers, secretions and droppings.
I ran out of dust masks which i use when scraping the dove loft daily. Anyhow, now I have an horrible cough, aching chest and back, The Dr thinks it may be psittacosis which I caught 4 years ago after cleaning the chook house in windy weather!! So Ive read up on the subject and found this article:
Apparantly when humans catch it from dander dust etc, we show no signs of illness, which is why they call it "walking Pnuemonia" until we start coughing etc.
The disease is treatable and we recover quickly with Meds.
So always wear your masks when cleaning the cages etc!!
Chlamydia psittaci infects wild and domestic birds and poultry. Birds which contract the infection include parrots, canaries, pigeons, chickens, ducks, and turkeys. The time between exposure to Chlamydia psittaci and the onset of illness in caged birds ranges from three days to several weeks. Sick birds show signs of:
sleepiness,
shivering,
weight loss,
breathing difficulties,
diarrhea.
Birds can have a latent infection. That means they appear healthy and do not show any symptoms now but they can show symptoms later. These infected birds carrying the Chlamydia psittaci bacteria may shed the organism intermittently or sometimes continuously for weeks or months. Stress associated with nutritional deficiencies, overcrowding, breeding, egg-laying and prolonged transport may cause birds with a latent infection to shed infectious agents. When shedding occurs, the infected birds excrete the bacteria in the feces and nasal discharges and can remain infective for several months.
Humans most commonly catch the disease from infected birds by inhaling the bacteria from shed feathers, secretions and droppings.
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