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Okay, today a neighbor down the road gave me a sick sparrow. I didn't know that it was sick until a little bit ago when it died. Is thier anything that I need to worry about as far as being in contact with this bird?

Submitted: 351 days and 2 hours ago.

Category: Bird

Value: $9

Status: AWAITING CUSTOMER ACTION

Breed: House Sparrow

Already Tried:
I feed and watered the bird and gave it shelter in a small crate. The bird did vomit a clear liquid and seemed very disoriented before it died.

Answer

Hello,

The risk is small, especially if you washed your hands with soap and water after handling the bird, but there is some risk. There are some diseases that are transmitted from sick birds to humans. Some of them include:

Psittacosis, which can cause fever, headache, chills, and respiratory disease.

Newcastle Disease, with symptoms including conjunctivitis, fever, and respiratory symptoms.

Salmonellosiswhich causes severe diarrhea.

Campylobacter, symptoms including diarrhea,
abdominal pain, fever, nausea, and vomiting.

If you develop any symptoms, it would be best to see your doctor. You can read about these diseases in more detail at this site:

http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:8rErRfLYKIoJ:www.mtu.edu/research/administration/integrity-compliance/pdf/Zoonotic_Diseases.pdf+zoonosis+birds&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us

If you have more questions about this, just let me know by clicking on REPLY.

Anna

Accepts:
Expert:	MsAM
Pos. Feedback:	100.0 %
Answered:	12/7/2008

Bird Expert

Have owned and/or raised parakeets, finches, cockatiels, and poultry over a period of thirty years.

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Okay, today a neighbor down the road gave me a sick sparrow. I didn't know that it was sick until a little bit ago when it died. Is thier anything that I need to worry about as far as being in contact with this bird?

Optional Information

Breed: House Sparrow Already Tried: I feed and watered the bird and gave it shelter in a small crate. The bird did vomit a clear liquid and seemed very disoriented before it died.

Answer

Related Bird Questions

Breed: House Sparrow

Already Tried:
I feed and watered the bird and gave it shelter in a small crate. The bird did vomit a clear liquid and seemed very disoriented before it died.