# Please help! Can pigeons pass diseases to other animals



## animal lover (Mar 3, 2002)

Hi everyone, 
Please help with a quick question. Can outdoor pigeons pass diseasesand/or lice, etc. on to other animals such as dogs, cats, ferrets, etc. if they are brought indoors, but are kept isolated from the other animals such as in another seperate room? I realize that they can pass things onto other birds, but was unsure about other animals. Also, can they pass anything onto humans if we wash our hands thoroughly after handling them? Thanks for any help you can offer.


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## Navigator (Jan 2, 2003)

I know of no disease that can be transmitted from the pigeon to any of the other animals. There is no recorded diseases from pigeons to humans, so you are ok there too.
There is an illness that people can contract from the environment of pigeons when they are confined to inproper conditions. The common name is Pigeon Lung Disease and is a result of breathing in the dust from the dried droppings in lofts where these are allowed to accumulate.
I clean my lofts twice daily and am not faced with the problem. However, some folks clean the loft a couple times per year and are exposed to the dust on a daily basis when feding the birds.
Like any other pet, just use good santitation practices after handling them and all should be fine. They sometimes will have lice or mites. These will not transfer to you or you other pets, but they are not good for the bird either, so frequent baths are good. I add 1 tablespoon of borax per 1 gallon water for a weekly bath and this will eliminate the external parasites.
Good luck and enjoy.


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## animal lover (Mar 3, 2002)

Thank you very much for the info. The kind people on this site never let me down. If only there were more compassionate people in the world!


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## fred2344 (Jan 9, 2002)

I think you have to be very careful when you ask questions about illnesses passing among different animals including people. It is always better to be safe than sorry and you can't assume that there are no illnesses that are transmittable. There are.
First, there is psitticosis which is in about 75% of all wildbirds. Although the pigeon can harbor the organism that is the cause for it (chlamidia), the bird carries a less acute form of it. However, when that organism transfers to another host, it doubles in strength and where there may be no symptoms in the original bird, there can be significant symptoms in the animal to which it has been transmitted.
M.A. is a form of tuberculosis that is transmittable. People can catch it from animals and the reverse is true.
Salmonella is a constant hazard in any animal and people. All of the various strains can be exchanged among organisms, animals or people.
Hextaplasmosis, a protozoan parasite is transmittable.
Hepatitis, bacterial or viral, can grow in the droppings and that is one reason to keep coops and cages clean.
Birds can contract staph infections from people whose mouths are not as clean. For that reason, it is not recommended that people kiss birds.
I'm sure there are more but these are the ones I can think of right now.


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## fred2344 (Jan 9, 2002)

I just remembered one other illness that is currently in the news, currently going on and represents a danger to millions of birds in different species.
Exotic NewCastle Disease or END has been discovered in Southern California. This illness transmits from bird to bird in many different species including parrots. Any area discovered to harbor the virus is being quarantined and all birds that are in the posession of people regardless of species are being put to sleep. 
This virus has now spread to Nevada. If it isn't contained, this can spread from the west coast all the way to the Atlantic and birds put to sleep, which are now estimated to be about +/- 1 million, can easily climb to hundreds of millions. Once an area has been quarantined, there are no loopholes and that means entire pigeon coops and the parakeets you have at home, can and will be killed.


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## Navigator (Jan 2, 2003)

Correction Fred, she doesn't have to careful when asking. It looks like I need to be more careful about replying. Since you are more informed on the subject, your's would be the proper reply. I hope my incorrect statements are not the only ones being viewed. Sorry for typing out of turn. I read information on pigeons all the time, but have never read any medical journals to keep up to date on new findings. Thanks for setting the record straight.


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## fred2344 (Jan 9, 2002)

Navigator,
Please don't think I took offense at your post because I didn't. I hope you didn't take any offense at mine.
I was trying to fill in some missing information. That's all so everything is fine all around (I think).


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## Navigator (Jan 2, 2003)

No offense taken; just glad she was able to get the proper information.


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## WhiteWingsCa (Mar 1, 2002)

I KNOW that coccidia can be passed from chickens to dogs -- that's how my puppy got it. 

So, I would guess it is possible for coccidia to pass from pigeons to dogs, too?  And visa-versa -- if you have a dog with it, and chickens (maybe pigeons?) scratch in the dirt where it defecated, the coccidia can be picked up by the birds.

Pigeons can get round worms too -- same method.


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## Navigator (Jan 2, 2003)

Wow, there is another new one on me. I have never heard of Coccidiosis being transmitted from one type of critter to another. As a matter of fact, I remember reading in my poultry books that this protozoa is Species Specific. I raised chickens for 40 years with the dogs guarding them. Some of the growing chicks did show signs of Cocci are were treated for it. The dogs never were treated for it.
BTW, I did research Psittacosis and found that it is the respiratory ailment contracted by some humans when exposed to high concentrations of dust from litter (as I had warned about). I also found that it can be transmitted by continual exposure for folks "dressing infected poultry" for human consumption.


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## animal lover (Mar 3, 2002)

Wow! You guys never cease to amaze me! Thank you so much for all of your help. I had no idea that some of these diseases even existed. I'm still fairly new to the world of Pigeons, but boy are they beautiful creatures. I'm still trying to learn as I go. Thanks again.


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