The researchers mention that you should not blame yourself. Many birds normally carry this bacteria in their bodies. When stressed, their immunity to this bacteria goes down and the bacteria can then grow rapidly in the birds body. A number of things can cause stress to birds (unusual weather, long migrations, food shortages). If you are worried that the birds may get this infection from your feeder then here is some advice on how to lower the chances of giving those beautiful visitors salmonella.
- Clean bird feeders with a 10 percent bleach solution or stop feeding altogether now that warm weather is here.
- Do not try to rehabilitate sick birds without the legally required permits from federal and state authorities.
- When handling dead birds, remember that the bacterial disease may turn out to be transmissible to humans.
I also encourage you to go to the Cornell University article. It also has some really good information on salmonella and its effects on birds and humans. For more information on salmonella, go to the University of Texas in Houston's site. For even more information, try Baron's online Medical Microbiology textbook (this link takes you to the salmonella chapter).
Before I go I would like to thank Kenneth Friedman (this link may not work if you are not a member of the Suite) for the idea for this article. To read one of Ken's articles on the environment go to this link.
Next Week's article (4/24/98), "New Hope in Treating Staphylococcus Infections!".
Take Care and Think Microbiologically!
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