What are the HEALTH RISKS associated with pest birds?
A. The general public seriously underestimates the health risks associated with pest birds. Pest birds harbor over forty types of parasites and can host internally over sixty types of infectious diseases including West Nile Virus and Avian Flu. Pest birds have become a major nuisance in our cities and they pose a serious health risk. Diseases may live in the bird and be passed on when the bird defecates. This makes bird droppings very unsanitary and dangerous. Food and water may become contaminated. Dried feces may become airborne and settle on exposed food or water. Several thousand cases of food poisoning (Salmonella) are attributed to this type of bird feces contamination each year. The dried fecal particles may contain fungi and/or bacteria and when airborne may be inhaled into the lungs. In a small percentage of infected cases, major fungal infection causes long-term disability and even death. There is no known medical cure for internal fungal infections. Direct contact of feces w
