Pigeon training might seem like a fun hobby, but it can lead to serious health problems, from bacterial and parasitic infections to viral diseases like encephalitis; learn about the risks.
Training pigeons to target is a well-known skill. However, it poses significant health risks, making it an unhealthy hobby. It exposes adults, especially the elderly and children, to a variety of diseases. These conditions are linked to this practice due to the potential harm they pose.
Here’s a look at some diseases that can result from training pigeons, or living near them, which include the following:
Diseases Resulting from Pigeon Training
Hypersensitivity is one of the conditions associated with pigeon training, in addition to other health conditions such as severe skin allergies, red skin, infections, and difficulty breathing.
The main reasons for these diseases, including hypersensitivity, are increased dust, contaminated pigeon droppings, and even small amounts of chemical compounds that can cause hypersensitivity. This leads to a reaction.
1. Bacterial Diseases
There are several diseases that can result from pigeon training due to bacteria found in pigeon environments, including the following:
Erysipeloid
The disease appears as inflammation, swelling, and redness in the limbs. The color can change to black or blue, along with a feeling of burning, pain, and itching.
This inflammation can appear in all parts of the body. The person may also suffer from headaches, chills, pain in the joints, elevated body temperature, and vomiting. This inflammation can be fatal, especially for the elderly.
Listeriosis
This disease results from the Listeria monocytogenes bacterium, found in the intestines. It causes inflammation in the eyes, inflammation in the heart muscle, and various skin inflammations.
In addition, this disease can cause inflammation in the lining of the brain, posing a threat to newborns. It is also dangerous for pregnant women or women planning to become pregnant, as it can be transmitted through breast milk.
Paratyphoid
This is one of the diseases resulting from pigeon training. The cause is different types of Salmonella bacteria, which are carried by pigeons and found in their droppings.
Pasteurellosis
The cause of this infectious disease is a germ called Pasteurella multocida. The disease usually appears as inflammation in the respiratory system, inflammation in the lungs, or inflammations in internal organs, such as inflammation of the membranes or inflammation in the bones.
This germ is found in pigeon droppings for nearly a month and in the respiratory system for three months.
2. Parasitic Diseases
There are several diseases that can result from pigeon training due to parasites found in pigeon environments, including the following:
American Trypanosomiasis
Also known as Chagas disease, it is transmitted through bugs carrying Trypanosoma parasites. The disease is directly transmitted to humans through pigeons.
There is currently no treatment for this disease. Most people who contract this disease die within seven to forty weeks.
Toxoplasmosis
This disease can cause a range of complications and health problems, such as impaired vision, damage to the nervous system, mental disorders, and even death.
Pigeons transmit this germ through droppings, secretions of the eyes, or through direct contact.
Trichomoniasis
These are living cells of bacteria that cause trichomoniasis, affecting the reproductive organs and also the digestive system and skin of the neck. This disease can cause infertility in women and can lead to death.
Pigeons are the main carriers of a type of trichomoniasis called Trichomonas gallinae.
3. Viral Diseases
There are several diseases that can result from pigeon training due to viruses found in pigeon environments, including the following:
- Encephalitis
A general name for a group of viral diseases that can cause damage to the nervous system and the brain. This disease also causes inflammation and damage to the brain and body.
St. Louis Encephalitis
This disease affects the nerves and can lead to inflammation in the brain or spinal cord. Recovery from the disease is possible, but the complications can sometimes cause paralysis, memory loss, or even death.
Headache, fever, inability to move, inability to see or hear are among the common symptoms of this disease, and this disease can appear in all ages, but it appears mostly in people over 60 years of age. Pigeons are among the factors that help transmit the disease.
Western Equine Encephalitis
This disease is rare and less common among people. The virus that causes this disease lives in the saliva of infected mosquitoes and is transmitted when they bite humans.
Most of the symptoms are mild and are fever, pain, and neck stiffness. The risk of death from this disease is high, especially among children.
4. Other Diseases Resulting from Pigeon Training
Among the diseases that can result from pigeon training, we mention the following:
Chlamydiosis
This disease is considered very contagious and appears in the form of lung inflammation or influenza, accompanied by the appearance of a group of diseases, including: fever, chills, loss of appetite, cough, severe headaches, and vomiting, and diarrhea in all parts of the body.
The disease can also cause inflammation in the liver and thickening in the blood. This disease is transmitted easily to pigeons, making pigeons the main source of disease transmission.
Q Fever
The symptoms of this disease resemble chills, fever, sweating, muscle aches, chest pains, severe headache, and burning in the eyes. Recovery can take several months.
Pigeons transmit this disease, in addition to fleas and lice that live on pigeons.
These are other diseases associated with pigeon training and pigeon droppings. The best way to avoid these diseases is to keep pigeons away and prevent them from being near human environments.
