Pigeon Patrol would like to know if feeding the pigeon’s can kill you ?
This is what one reporter says: The 1960s movie “Mary Poppins” immortalised it with “Feed the birds, tuppence a bag” but beware – what 42-year-old Balwant Singh and many do-gooders in the capital and elsewhere practice every morning – feeding pigeons grain – could lead to compromising their health and hygiene of the surrounding area.
Feeding birds is slowly turning into a new fad in the city. Be it the space under flyovers, or the path for pedestrians and even roads – they have become places for people to throw food. Besides dirtying the place, the flocks of flapping pigeons can cause nuisance and most importantly, pose health concerns.
“The exposure to accumulations of pigeon droppings can cause an allergic reaction called the ‘Bird Fancier’s disease’ – an acute respiratory infection affecting the lungs of an individual,” Vivek Nangia, respiratory medicine hed at Fortis Healthcare, told IANS.
The disease is characterised by dry cough, breathlessness and fatigue and could also lead to fever.
“Diagnosing the problem becomes very difficult. Such symptoms of dry cough and breathlessness are often attributed to asthma, but if there is an exposure to pigeon droppings then the patients should mention it,” added Nangia.
People can also get fungal infections like Histoplasmosis and Cryptoccosis that spreads from old and dry droppings.
“Histoplasmosis is transmitted to humans by airborne fungus spores from soil contaminated by pigeon and starling droppings. While cryptoccosis is typically found in accumulations of droppings around roosting and nesting sites,” he said.
Doctors advise that the droppings should be cleaned immediately. It is also highly recommended that people cleaning it should take preventive measures and the droppings should be collected in garbage bags and disposed.
“People with weak immune system are more prone to get affected by infections from the birds. So they should wear masks and moisten the droppings with a light mist of water to keep spores from becoming airborne and keep them wet,” Manchanda said.
“The food that people give to the birds is also eaten by other animals that share the urban space. Hence they could also be eating the faeces of the birds which is detrimental for their health,” Jaya Simha, managing director, Humane Society International (HSI), told IANS.
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
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Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca) Now shipping World Wide.
