The Kiss of Death (Human Saliva)

[Graehstone]

This article originally appeared in the Your Parrot Place Newsletter 04-01-2001.

Bacterial Alert - "The Kiss of Death"
by Marilu Anderson, Bird Nutrition and Behavior Consultant

Our companion parrots LOVE our mouths - to kiss us, eat from our mouths, feed us, clean our teeth (they're all budding dental hygienists!) We love them in return - and want to kiss them back, share our food, nuzzle, and bond. Unfortunately, the human mouth is a breeding ground for many nasty pathogens harmful to birds, especially bacteria, like E. Coli. I constantly remind people NOT to let their birdies come in contact with their saliva, yet it keeps happening.

I know how hard it is to resist a cute little beaker and exploring tongue on our face and lips, yet the consequences can be deadly. I've known people who routinely fed their unweaned baby parrots from their own mouths, or who prechewed nuts for their birds, or regularly let their buddy clean every single tooth in the evening as they sit and watch TV together. It seems innocuous enough - most of us don't worry about catching anything from our birds and, in fact, there are very few diseases that WE can get from THEM.

But the danger we don't think of is from US infecting THEM!! We humans have very different digestive systems and immune systems from our parrots, so many of the common bacteria in our mouths and bodies that don't make us sick can be devastating to our birds. In fact, there's not many places on earth nastier than the human mouth!! (Just ask a doctor about the seriousness of a human bite!) Last year, some friends of mine lost one of their beloved Quakers, and spent many months nursing the other one back to health, due to an E. Coli infection from human saliva.

Just recently, another friend discovered that her African Grey has a bacterial infection from - you guessed it! - SALIVA!! Fortunately, it's mild, but he has to undergo a 10 day course of antibiotics nonetheless. So, please, please, PLEASE - resist the temptation to "swap spit" with your birdie - we can share our love in much safer ways that don't put our loved ones at risk of illness, or even death!!

[yehudasf]

regularly let their buddy clean every single tooth in the evening as they sit and watch TV together. It seems innocuous enough

EEEWWW!!, nasty, icky, not to mention disgusting. If any person was aware of what sort of pathogenic hotbed human mouths are, they would never willingly expose their psittazen companions to such. Our mouths are (mostly) an anaerobic environment (if one is not a mouth-breather), meaning that under most conditions our mouths are closed, & with the oral structures in place, there is little room for the flow of air in the normal course of respiration. Most of the really nasty bacteria are found in anaerobic environments. Not something to which one would wish to expose a beloved psittazen companion.
Another point, why would any one let a bird go digging about inside their mouth? Sorry, that one is just way beyond me.