DO PIGEONS CARRY DISEASES?
A. Pigeons do carry diseases, which is probably why they have been referred to as flying rats. Ornithosis, encephalitis, Newcastle disease, cryptococcosis, histoplasmosis, toxoplasmosis and salmonella are just a few of the illnesses spread by contact with pigeon guano and carcass’. Cryptococcosis, one of the commonly carried pigeon diseases, infects the lungs of humans. It is transmitted by inhaling the yeast-like cells of the organism. Cryptococcosis can also cause acne-like ulcers on the skin. Histoplasmosis is a fungus disease contracted through airborne spores in pigeon droppings. If pigeons have been on your roof for a while, these spores can even infect the soil you garden in down below. Its symptoms may be anything from a mild influenza to blood abnormalities and fever, or even death. An eye condition has been linked to the bird disease histoplasmosis and can lead to blindness in those who contract it. Toxoplasmosis is an infection that invades human tissue and can severely dama
