The Coolidge examiner., 1935-09-20

kXx OF parrot leNeI'
transmitted from
a sick parrot 10 man. Is another ex-
ample Of a pets ailment that can
be fatal 10 It's master or mistress.
But unlike the mad dog. the sick
parrot Is not aggressive and hence
is not so dangerous.
A disease OF parrots In which the
birds are In a stupor, are weak and
have dlarrhea is an old observation,
but the FIRST recognized instance OF
this disease being transmitted to
man was In Europe.
Professor Nocard OF Paris about
1879 found that this disease in par
rots was caused by a germ very
similar to the germs which cause
diarrhea in man. This germ belongs
to a family OF bacteria which is
widespread in nature and causes
diarrhea in many animals.
Parrot fever was little known in
the United States until the fall OF
1929. when several cases appeared
along the Atlantic seaboard. The
cases grew Into a mild epidemic and
appeared In 45 different places
throughout the country. In all. there
were 100 cases reported. of which
80 resulted fatally. The infections
were definitely associated with d.
rect contact with birds that had
been imported into New York during
November and December OF 1929.
and then shipped to other places.
The time elapsIng between con-
tact with the sick parrot and the on
set of the disease Is given as six to
fifteen days. The disease In man
runs "A course similar to influenza
or typhoid fever. Sometimes the dis
ease processes are mainly In the
chest as In influenza. and sometimes
they are In the abdomen and resem-
Bile typhoid fever. Of the 100 cases
reported 107 were females and 60
were males. This was probably be-
cause more women than men take
care OF birds. The older the indl-
yidual the more serious the parrot
fever. Most OF the deaths occur
among persons over forty.
During the year 1891. twelve cases
OF parrot fever were reported from
New York and 43 cases from the
Pacific coast states. There were 13
deaths among these % cases. Most
OF these infections were contracted
from sick parokeets and love birds.
Raising parOkeets is an industry in
several places along the Pacific
coast. Investigations showed that
many OF these parokeet aviaries
were infected with psIttacosis. An
other important discovery was made
and that is that healthy birds can
carry with them the causative agent
OF parrot fever.
We do not know OF any specific
vaccine or antiserum with which TO
treat successfully the human pa
tient suffering from parrot fever.
Several psychologists who have
worked upon parrot fever have be
come infected, and there have been
few deaths. A very good friend
OF mine, Doctor Stokes of the Bal
timore health department, died of
this disease while doing research
work during the 1929-1930 epidemic.
Since this disease cannot be con-
trolled by the relatively simple
method Of embargo and quarantine
at the ports OF entry. 1t becomes a
menace TO persons who desire men,
bers OF the parrot family as pets
Doctor Hasseltine OF the United
States health service has made sew
eral suggestions as to the control of
birds that can infect man with par
rot fever. He thinks the local health
authorities should have records Of
the person or firm engaged in breed
ing. buying and selling birds Of the
parrot family. These firms should
keep records as TO their source Of
supply and the list and addresses of
purchasers. The sanitation of avi-
aries and pet shops should be in
spected by the local authorities so
as to insure proper housing cOndi-
tions, to prevent overcrowding of
birds, and to see that cleanliness of
the premises is carried out.
The disease is more prevalent in
birds during cold weather, and re-
Gently acquired birds are more
dangerous than birds that have been
in the family for some time. The
practice Of allowing birds to feed
from the hands is extremely dan
gerous.
Any sickness in birds of the par
rot family in the home should be re-
garded with suspicion. The cages
should be kept clean and the clean
ing done out-of-doors to prevent the
dust flying about the room. The
cages should be left in the sunlight
until the moisture has dried. Until
we know more about parrot fever
1t is best to isolate the human cases
OF this disease and to carry out the
ordinary measures Of bedside nurs-
ing that are pursued in all infec-
tious diseases