A Warning About Bird Marts
BY LAURELLA DESBOROUGH
Copyright Laurella Desbrough (eclectusbreeder.com).
All rights reserved by the author.
Aviculturists and veterinarians
in various areas noticed an
increase in disease outbreaks
after bird mart events. A plan
to test for disease organisms at
such marts was formulated by
these two groups. They decided
to use the advanced DNA and PCR
(polymerase chain reaction)
technology, due to its extreme
sensitivity and accurate
parameters. This testing method,
when performed properly, does
not give false positives. If the
test is positive, the organism
is there. Unfortunately, a
negative does not mean the
organism is not there.
Testing began in 1998. Diseases
tested for were limited to
polyomavirus, psittacine beak
and feather disease (PBFD) and
Chlamydia (psittacosis),
as these were the only DNA
probes available for
environmental testing. Research
Associates in Milford, Ohio,
(Dr. Dahlhausen and Dr.
Radabaugh) processed the
materials. Sample collection was
simple. Using a sterile
culturette swab, an individual
rubbed the tip across a tabletop
or floor in the "bird event"
area. In order to prevent bias,
the same procedures were used at
each event. Swabs were only
taken from tables or areas where
live birds were not being
displayed; in other words, only
at tables with vendors selling
supplies, not vendors selling
birds.
Eight different events were
tested from around the United
States.
Following are the results of
these events:
May, 1998
PBFD positive
Polyoma positive
Chlamydia
negative
May, 1999
PBFD positive
Polyoma positive
Chlamydia
positive
October, 1999
PBFD positive
Polyoma positive
Chlamydia
negative
October, 1999
PBFD positive
Polyoma negative
Chlamydia
negative
December, 1999
PBFD positive
Polyoma positive
Chlamydia
negative
March, 2000
PBFD negative
Polyoma positive
Chlamydia
negative
March, 2000
PBFD positive
Polyoma positive
Chlamydia
negative
March, 2000
PBFD positive
Polyoma positive
Chlamydia
negative
These startling results are
indicative of the dangers of
taking birds to marts to sell
and then returning home with the
unsold birds and placing them
back into the collection or
going to a mart to purchase a
healthy bird. The bird brought
to the mart may have been very
healthy, but at the mart it may
have been exposed to one or more
disease pathogens that later
result in an outbreak of the
disease. It is important to
recognize that the disease
pathogens are in the air, as
well as on virtually everything
in the area. People and birds
may not have entered with these
disease pathogens, but they
definitely leave with them. Many
people are unaware that PBFD and
polyomavirus are extremely hardy
and may remain stable for upward
of one year. A single bird mart
can expose thousands of birds to
disease. Of all the bird marts
tested, not a single one was
found to be free of disease.
"People come looking for
bargains, real or perceived, but
the bad news is the diseases are
free!" said Dr. Phalen of Texas
A&M.
Considering the tremendous
disease risk, it is inadvisable
to buy or sell young birds at
bird marts. Considering the
great risk posed to bird
breeders' collections and to pet
bird owners' companion birds, it
is not prudent to visit bird
marts or purchase items there. (Anything
bought from a store or mart
should be thoroughly
disinfected. — Ed.)
(Information for this bird mart
warning was provided by Ernie
Colaizzi, [Phoenix, Unlimited in
Texas], who directed the sample
collection and wrote a follow up
report on the results.)
