Show fa let our motto be G GOOD HEALTH BY DR LLOYD ARNOLD of ind and Presta tise medicine t university of I 1 Ili illnois nois cc collad I 1 lest of medicine WHEN HOUSEHOLD PETS BECOME PESTS mans fondness for pets Is sometimes detrimental to his health 11 tables or hydrophobia Is 13 a disease communicated to man by the bite ot of a dog rabies would be rare if 1 man did not tame a member of 0 the wolf wol family and keep it constantly at his side psittacosis or parrot fever transmitted from a sick parrot to man it Is another example of 0 a pets aliment ailment that can be fatal to its waster master or mistress but unlike the niad mad dog the sick parrot Is not aggressive and hence Is not so dangerous A disease of parrots in which the birds are in a stupor are weak and have diarrhea Is an old observation but the first recognized instance of this disease being transmitted to nian man was in europe professor bocard of paris about 1879 found that this disease in parrots was caused by a germ very similar to the germs which cause diarrhea in man this germ belongs to a family of bacteria which is widespread in na nature and causes diarrhea in many animals parrot fever was little known in the united states until the fall 01 19 2 1 when hen several cases appeared along the atlantic s the ca cases seg grew into a mild epidemic and appeared in 45 different places throughout the country in all there were iga cases reported of which 33 resulted fatally the infections were definitely associated with direct contact with birds that had been imported into new york during november and december of 1929 and then shipped to other places the time elapsing between contact with the sick parrot and the onset of the disease Is given as six to fifteen days the disease in man runs a course similar to influenza or typhoid fever sometimes the disease processes are mainly in the chest as in influenza and sometimes they are in the abdomen and resemble typhoid fever of the 1139 cases reported were females and ca were males this was probably because more women than men take care of birds the older the individual the more serious is parrot fever most host of the ilie deaths occurred among persons over forty january 24 1830 1930 an embargo was placed against the importation of parrots october 21 1030 1930 this was modified to allow the importation of parrots ir if they were quarantined for 15 days at the port of entry in february 1932 this quarantine period was extended to all birds of the parrot family during the year 11 1931 twelve cases of parrot fever ferer were reported from new york and 43 cases from the pacific coast states there were 13 deaths among these 55 cases most ot of these infections were contracted from sick parakeets paro keets and love birds raising lia ising parakeets paro keets Is an industry in several places along the pacific coast investigations showed that many of these thesa parakeet paro keet aviaries were infected with psittacosis another very important discovery was made and that la Is that healthy birds can carry with them the causative agent of parrot fever we do not know of any specific vaccine or antiserum with which to t treat reat successfully the human patient suffering from parrot fever several bao bac ter lolo ests who have worked upon parrot fever have become infected and there have been a few deaths A very good friend of mine doctor stokes of the baltimore health department die died of this disease while doln doing research work during the 1929 1020 1930 epidemic since this disease cannot be controlled by the relatively simple method of eLU embargo bargo and quarantine at the ports of entry it becomes a menace to persons who desire deml members of the parrot family for pets U doctor actor hasseltine of the united states health service has made several suggestions as to the control of birds that can infect man with parrot fever feer ile he thinks the local health authorities should have records of 0 the person or farm engaged in breeding buying and selling birds of the parrot family these firms should keep records as to their source of supply and the list and addresses of purchasers the sanitation ot of ala aviaries fles and pet shops should fie be inspected by the local authorities so as to insure proper housing conditions dit ions to prevent overcrowding of birds and to see that cleanliness of the premises Is carried out the disease is more prevalent in birds during cold weather and recently acquired birds are more dangerous than birds that have been in the family tor for some time the practice of allowing birds to feed from the hands is extremely dangerous any sickness in birds of the parrot fa family rn fly in the home should be regarded with suspicion the cages should be kept clean and the cleaning done ont of doors to prevent the dust hying about the room the cates cages should be left in the sunlight until the moisture lias has dried until we know more about parrot fever it Is best to isolate the human cases of tills this disease arid and to carry carryout carr out the ordinary measure measures men a of 0 b bed e d b bide nursing that are pursued in A all 1 1 i infectious n alous diseases a 0 western z union |