BIRD MARTS
The Single Greatest Threat to Avian Health
in the New Millennium!
by
Ernie Colaizzi (ecolaizzi@aol.com)
Keeping birds happy and healthy is the number one concern of most bird owners. What toys will they like? What is his/her favorite foods and treats? Is the paint on its cage safe? What can we do to insure our birds live long, healthy lives? All these questions and more go through our minds on a daily basis. Birds cannot care for themselves, it is up to their human caretakers to do the best job possible. Cleaning cages daily, fresh foods and water, toys, play time and more all go into a 'normal day 'of caring for birds. The mistakes most well-intentioned birds owners make are most frequently from ignorance just not knowing - as opposed to stupidity.
Today a serious new health risk is threatening the lives of birds across the country. A very real health risk that has the potential for epidemic proportions. It goes by the simple name of 'Bird Marts'. Some people call them bird fairs, bird expos, bird shows and more. These innocuous appearing events are being put on by bird clubs, aviculturists and other people for profit and/or fund raising. What can possibly be so dangerous as a diverse groups of birds of varying ages brought together for one or two days? Everything! Anyone who believes these events are safe are not being truthful, or are simply ignorant of the facts.
People talk about quarantine - referring to the U.S.D.A. Bird Quarantine Stations that operated between 1971 and 1993 - how dangerous and awful it was. Thirty (30) days confined to cramped quarters sharing food, water, air, perches and more. Several sick birds could infect many more during the quarantine period resulting in high mortality rates. Many stations were less than honest. (Does anyone remember an honest importer?) And what happened when a station was having a disease outbreak with high mortality? They would have a sale! Drop the price and move them out. Take their problem and spread it around. Yes, it was terrible, but without it we wouldn't have the breeding stock so necessary for our operations today.
No matter how dangerous quarantine stations were, they still cannot match the dangers of today's 'bird marts'! These events have risen to become the single greatest threat to bird health we have ever encountered! How can a simple bird event be so life threatening? Is it nothing more than breeders coming together to sell their birds to the public? An unsuspecting public! At least in the quarantine stations, birds were exposed to other birds from the same areas of the world. The diseases present were also from the same area (indigenous) and many would have some natural immunity to it. In a Bird event' setting, birds are exposed to many other birds from all over the world (even though they may be domestically bred). These birds, no matter how young, have the potential to bring their specific diseases and problems with them. In essence, any disease from anywhere in the world may conceivably be present and many are!
Years ago, concerned veterinarians and aviculturists began to notice a serious rise in sick and dead birds following many such events. Serious diseases such as Pacheco's, Polyoma, P.B.F.D., Chlamydia (Psittacosis), Wasting syndromes and more would suddenly appear from nowhere. We frequently discussed these diseases, their possible sources and patterns of outbreaks to recently held 'bird events'! It was obvious where the diseases were originating from, but could we prove it?
After many lengthy conversations with Dr.'s Dahlhausen and Radabaugh from Research Associates in Milford, Ohio, we came up with a plan to determine the incidence of diseases present at various events. Our goal was to determine what diseases were present, which events or seasons were safe and possible ways to insure the safety of birds. To determine which diseases were present, we would employ the use of their advanced technologies. DNA, PCR technology was selected due to its extremely sensitive and accurate parameters. This method, when performed properly, does not have false positives. If the test was positive, the organism was there. The bad news is a negative does not mean the organism wasn't there, it simply means we did not detect it!
Testing began in 1998. Diseases we tested for were limited to the 'Big Three' (Polyoma, P.B.F.D. and Chlamydia), as these were the only DNA probes available for environmental testing. Sample collection was simple. Using a sterile culturette swab (looks like a Q-tip with a long handle), an individual would simply rub the tip across a table top or floor in the 'bird event' area. Considering how small the culturette tip is, if diseases are detected, it reflects just how much viral or bacterial contaminants must be present. In order to prevent bias of events or people skills for collection, the procedures were the same for all. Swabs would only be taken from tables or areas where live birds were not being
displayed. In other words, only vendors selling supplies, magazine subscriptions, clubs, raffle areas, non-bird pets and even people.
Eight different events were tested from around the country. Our goal was to be able to demonstrate these problems exist universally throughout the U.S., not just in Texas or Connecticut or Florida, etc. Following are the results
of these events.
Approximate Day
May, 1998
May, 1999
October, 1999
October, 1999
December, 1999
March, 2000
March, 2000
March, 2000 P.B.F.D.
Positive
Positive
Positive
Positive
Positive
Negative
Positive
Positive Polyoma
Positive
Positive
Positive
Negative
Positive
Positive
Positive
Positive Chlamydia
Negative
Positive
Negative
Negative
Negative
Negative
Negative
Negative
As you can see from the above chart, P.B.F.D. was detected at virtually every event but one. Polyoma was also detected at all events but one. Chlamydia, being a bacteria may be harder to detect or as the chart shows, may be less of a problem than the viruses present. If we had been swabbing tables with birds, the likelihood of detecting the presence of Chlamydia may be much greater.
Typical results from individual swabs collected at various 'bird marts' as follows:
Swab Collected From
Local bird club without birds
Raffle table without birds
Toy Exhibitor
Reptile Exhibitor
Interior Arena Walls
Random Person (Human) P.B.F.D.
Positive
Positive
Positive
Positive
Positive
Positive
Polyoma
Positive
Positive
Positive
Positive
Positive
Positive
Chlamydia
Positive
Negative
Negative
Negative
Negative
Negative
Although not accounted in either chart, several bird sales areas were also swabbed at various events:
Swab Collected From
Event #1
Event #2
P.B.F.D.
Positive
Positive
Polyoma
Positive
Positive
Chlamydia
Negative
Negative
Additionally, a hand-feeding African Grey Parrot was presented for DNA, Blood Testing after purchase from a 'bird event' with the following results:
African Grey
P.B.F.D.
Negative
Polyoma
Positive
Chlamydia
Not tested for