Birds
Different diseases can impact the birds in the ACT. This includes avian influenza, beak and feather disease, and wasting disease.
Avian influenza
Avian influenza is a viral disease that mainly affect birds, but also some mammals. It's caused by the ‘influenza type A’ group of viruses. There are various subtypes of the disease that can cause mild symptoms to severe illness, and sometimes death in birds.
In Australia, the main avian influenza viruses to worry about are the H5 and H7 subtypes, with H5 being the most dangerous.
Find out more about Avian influenza.
Beak and feather disease
Psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) is also known as psittacine circovirus (PCV) or Psittacine Circoviral Disease (PCD). It's an infectious disease that affects parrots, including lovebirds, lory, and cockatoo families.
Birds affected by PBFD look like they've lost lots of feathers around the head, which sometimes extends to the body. Their beak may also look deformed and overgrown. The disease also attacks the cells lining their organs.
In very young birds, PBFD can cause quick death from blood poisoning, gut inflammation, or lung infections. Infected older birds might show signs of sadness, diarrhoea, and strange feathers. The disease can take a long time to kill them, making it hard for older birds to eat properly. It may take 6 to 24 months for the disease to cause death in the infected bird.
To find out if a bird has the disease, vets need a few feathers and a bit of blood to check for the virus. The virus can spread in feather dust, faeces, and crop tissue. This means infected adults may transfer the disease to their young during feeding.
It's a widespread disease in the wild. The chances of survival in the wild are low, and depend on the severity of the virus. Factors such as age may also impact their chances of survival.
Some infected birds in the wild may survive if they're nursed. They will still spread the disease if they're released back into the wild. Even if cured, the virus persists in the liver, and the bird will still excrete the virus. This poses a threat to other birds it may come in contact with.
Most established populations of birds can withstand the disease. Threatened species are at greater risk of extinction.
Wasting disease
Wasting disease in parrots, known as Spironucleosis, affects young birds like king parrots and galahs in the ACT.
It's a severe disease that can happen quickly so infected birds are often found already dead. It occurs mostly from late March to September when the weather is starting to cool.
The disease is caused by a small parasite that attacks the gut, leading to weight loss, weakness, and diarrhoea. Infected birds often become very thin, with green droppings sticking to their feathers.
Young birds may become infected by sharing food from adult birds. With cooling weather and less food during winter months, birds are less immune to the disease, and they can become sick easily.
Wasting disease can sometimes be confused for other diseases. This includes Aspergillosis, Salmonellosis, Psittacosis and Chlamydiosis. They're similar diseases caused by microscopic organisms, but Spironucleosis happens at the same time annually.
The disease can only be confirmed in a live bird by looking at its faeces under a microscope. A low-powered microscope with a dark background can spot the tiny parasites that look like little tadpoles. The faecal sample needs to be examined fresh because the parasite dries up into a small, hard-to-recognise ball.
Successful treatment of these birds depends on quick action and how much weight they've lost. The treatment starts with intense care, including feeding and giving fluids. The birds also need a warm environment and medication such as dimetridazole or metronidazole to fight the parasite. Treatment can last from 7 to 14 days, with the birds slowly gaining weight, eating more, and stopping diarrhoea. Caretakers must keep everything very clean because the droppings can easily spread the disease.
Don’t feed birds and other wildlife
It’s important not to feed wildlife as this can allow disease to spread. Human food is also bad for their digestive system, especially birds.
Find out more about feeding wildlife.