Viral
Encephalitis
Meningitis
Newcastle Disease
St. Louis Encephalitis
Protozoal
Toxoplasmosis
Trichomoniasis
American Trypansomiasis
Rickettsial
Rickets
(Does
not include diseases spread by parasites which live on pest
birds).
|
What
is Disease
When normal body functions become disrupted due to a foreign
invader or an internal malfunction, we call the disruption a
disease. Diseases caused by foreign invaders are called infectious
diseases. The invading agents that account for the majority
of infectious diseases are grouped in the following five categories;
viruses, bacteria, mycotic (fungal), protozoal and rickettsial.
From a layman's standpoint, the classification and definitions
of disease are less important than how these diseases spread
and how can we protect ourselves from them. Diseases need to
be transported from place to place in order to spread. Birds
are a perfect mechanism for spreading disease because they travel
great distances, harbor over forty types of parasites and can
host internally over sixty types of infectious diseases.
Fortunately, human interaction with most bird species is minimal,
thus drastically reducing any health threat from most birds.
However a few bird species have successfully adapted to our
urban environment. Many birds have learned to thrive living
in our buildings and eating our food. Their adaptation to our
communities has brought them into close proximity to humans.
These three non-native birds have become a major nuisance in
our cities and they pose a serious health risk.
How Pest Birds Harbor and Spread Disease
The five types of infectious agents listed above can be associated
with birds in the following ways: the disease lives in the bird
and is passed on when the bird defecates; the disease lives
in the birds surrounding environment and is spread by the birds
lifestyle; the disease lives inside a parasite that the bird
harbors. From understanding how the bird harbors diseases we
can demonstrate the four ways the diseases are passed by the
bird to humans. |
A
nasty pigeon nest, consisting mainly of droppings and twigs, plays
host to many parasites and diseases that can easily be passed to humans.
