Evening star., 1897-04-09
DISEASE TRANSMlTTERS
Birds Said to Be Capable Of Carrying Con-
tagion.
Testimony of Men Who Have Made q
Careful Study of tho
Question.

! From the Literary Digest
Persons interested In birds have recently
been debating the question whether these
creatures are capable of contracting dis
eases from human beings or of transmit
| ting disease to human beings. Expert
opinion seems to be divided. On the one
hand DR.. K Ruff, director of Geferderte
Welt. in recent letter to the president of
the Acclimation Society. asserts that the
transmission of any disease from bird
to man. and vice versa is absolutely inn
possible. Says DIR. Ruff:
For more than thirty years have been
occupied In keeping, observing and raising
exotic birds of plumage: consequently I
have had occasion to deal with them when
Ill. Every bird that has died has been
examined, and 1 have thus dissected. dur
ing about thirty years, several hundred
paroquets. have always kept these birds
during their illness, sometimes for con-
siderable period, in my apartment, which
is somewhat restricted in size, being COM
posed of only six rooms for four grown
persons and four children. During all
this period l have not had single case
of sickness in my family. although the
birds have had all possible kinds of mala
dies. l am also confirmed in my belief by
the fact that I have allowed no opportun
ity to pass of asking for information on
the subject from the principal dealers in
4ras at coogne Rot,en
dam. Marseflles and Bordeaux. whenever
they had sick birds IN considerable num-
| bers In no case was informed that any
one, either of the family of the en-
ployer's, had been attacked in the house
of one of these merchants, and l obtained
the same information from the directors
Of the great geological gardens at Paris
and London. No contagion-and l cannot
insist too strongly on this point-could
ever be established"
These. however, are all negative facts.
o,Iy foil ono
| authenticated case of the transmission Of
disease to or from pet birds. Such cases.
1t is believed, have been proved to exist by
DIR. Laboulbene, who communicates an ac-
count of his Investigations to the Bulletin
of the Acclimation Society. We translate
some extracts below:
ut has been remarked for some time
that birds. notably parrots and paroquets.
are frequently attacked with a peculiar
disease. characterized by LESSONS of the
skin and orifces.
"Quite recently this malady has been
| studied with the aid of the best modern
methods. and Prof Straus gives the fol-
lowing minute description of it: The char
acteristic symptom of the malady in the
paroquet says the eminent medical pro-
fessor. is the frequency of tubercular
LESSONS of the skin and the mucous orifices;
| these are generally wanting. on the con-
trary, in fowls and pheasantS, In which the
tubercles seem to prefer the digestive canal
and Its annexes (the liver, the spleen, the
peritoneum).
grayish or brownish tumors often callous.
occupying the pupils, the conjunctivae, the
orificeS of the nasal cavities, the comm1s-
sures of the beak. the tongue or hard
palate the pharynx, the skin of the wings.
or the joints. In certain cases there appear
on the skin multiple tumors. increasing to
several centimeters in length; these dark
colored Scabs are easily rubbed off and dis
close a granulated tiSs,ie full of tubercles.
The skin of the head Is the favorite seat of
these tumors, and the tuberculous tumors
| of the tongue and palate present nearly the
same characteristics as those OF the eX-
ternaS skin The internal organs only are
| attacked in some cases, the lungs more fire.
| quently than the liver and the intestines,
| Just the opposite of what is observed with
| fowls I
1.-The nature of this affection then, ad-
mits of doubt; the presefice of tubercles and
I of bacilii demonstrates that we have to
| deal with tuberculosis.
| And after having tablished that the
| tuberculosis of birds Is experimentally in
| oculable In mammals, that the bacillus of
human and that of aviary tuberculosis are
| but two varieties Of the same microbe. the
| author cites the following instance: "A lace
maker. in good health after having lost
successfully her husband and her eldest
daughter (of tuberC ulosis?) went to new
; lodgings to live with her second daughter,
| who also was suspected of tuberculosis. In
| 1890 friend gave them present of tame
sparrow two years later II became sick,
| lost It's habitual gaiety and good temper,
| and in a fit of irritation pecked violently
| at its mistress and inflicted slight wound
on her finger. Several months afterward
the bird died.
six months after receiving the wound
from the birds beak, the lace-maker was
| disturbed at seeing that there was little
| swelling at the point where the sparrow
had hurt her, and went for advice to the
Hotel Dieu. where DIR. Durant discovered
two indurated tumors on the forearm and
without hesitation diagnosed the
| one of lupus This was afterward verified
by examination of the extirpated tumors
| and finally by the incubation from these of
| a guinea pig and a rabbit. which developed
the symptoms of tuberculosis
Lupus, 1t is we'll known, is form Of
tuberculosis. From this experiment and
| from clinical observation, we may then.
affirm this truth the knowledge Of which
| is very important: that birds, in many cir
| cumstances, can carry disease to persons.
| breeders or amateurs. who are brought in
| contact with them by their occupations or
their tastes