Species specificity of bird fancier’s lung

[~Drini~]

I am curious about the species-inclusivity of bird fancier’s lung. I have been looking through literature and have been unable to find any reports of bird fancier’s lung caused by exposure to new world parrots. Papers most commonly cite exposures to pigeons and budgies, but I have also seen reports of exposure to lovebirds, cockatiels, and rosellas. Some papers simply cite “parrot” as the source of exposure, which has turned out to be lovebirds when it’s specified (it’s not always specified). These are all old world parrot species.

It’s a pity that these papers usually don’t give many details about the type of exposure. I am curious if anyone has heard of anyone developing bird fancier’s lung after exposure to new world parrots (American parrots like conures, macaws, amazons).

 

[April]

I'd be curious to know as well. I've most often seen it associated with Cockatoos,Tiels and Grey's because of their powder down.

 

[Pixiebeak]

Chickens can cause, and my understanding has always been any species ...
When I was getting a chest X-ray work up , and had gone over my long history of working with birds, my doc made the comment they were surprised not to see some evidence of this in my lungs ...that even non symptomatic people who never show a problem ..have some scarring (?) In lungs over time ...
That's one doctor comment to me , I don't really know the validity of the comment...just sharing

 

[Pixiebeak]

Bird Fancier's lung: An underdiagnosed etiology of dyspnea

Bird Fancier's Lung is a type of hypersensitivity pneumonitis, an immunologically mediated lung disease due to repetitive exposure of air-borne avian antigen. This was first described in 1965 and is known as one of the most common causes of hypersensitivity ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Looks like it could be any species

Bird breeder's lung disease: Signs and symptoms; how bird droppings, feathers can damage your lungs

Love to feed birds in your balcony? You may be at risk of severe lung damage. All you want to know about bird breeder's lung disease.

www.hindustantimes.com

The second one says in susceptible individuals, who have this immune response

 

[WillowQ]

If I were an allergic asthmatic, I’d be concerned about keeping powder down producing birds.

My dr advised me to take my finch aviary out of my bedroom because that’s a constant dose of feather dust. He (and many allergy specialists)says the bedroom is no place for keeping a furred or feathered pet.

I certainly lived with my birds in studio apartments for several years, but my birds weren’t powder down birds. My guys come to visit in my bedroom but their cages and most of their dust are in the living room. Air purifiers would help if you have no choice but to keep your bird there.

If you or your kid has asthma, I really wouldn’t encourage keeping a cockatiel (or any pet) in the bedroom.

 

[Pixiebeak]

I'm sure powder comes with it's own hoast of issues.

It's actually this
" exposure to highly antigenic avian proteins excreted in bird droppings and waxy proteins covering feathers of a variety of birds"

 

[WillowQ]

So, In general, bird-derived antigens. Feathers, feather dust, and droppings are constantly shed and these all affect the immune system lots.

Pollen, mold spores, dust from cat saliva, house dust mites, cockroach poop are other things that really set off many people’s immune systems.

Sadly, our pets dandruff and coats can really rev up our immune systems.

 

[SunnySandi]

I imagine this is similar to groomers lung or most professions that involve any type of fine debris where face masks aren’t common, like mining, stonework, carpentry, etc.

Still interesting to see it pop up in less obvious situations, like pet ownership.

 

[~Drini~]

I really did read through maybe 20 recent papers, and not a single paper cited a new world parrot species as source of exposure.

This makes me wonder if perhaps not all parrot species are equal in the type of antigen they produce (and thus do not present equal risk in the development of bird fancier’s lung).

I think it’s a potentially important distinction, especially for those who want to keep birds but possess risk factors for bird fancier’s lung.

 

[Shezbug]

I believe all the info and cases I have seen about tends to refer to birds that are more commonly kept in much larger groups in coops or cages that are often not cleaned daily- pigeons, doves, poultry and most are from a long time back.

When I was really little I used to get a lot of respiratory issues which my GP at the time used to tell my mum was because she would not listen and she smoked inside my air space and she also allowed me to have a pet budgie and we were inseparable- the Dr used to mention the bird every time we visited as she was saying goodbye she would remind us she wanted my bird kept outside- I was not a sickly child till the bird was brought in to the picture.

I honestly do feel a vast difference in my breathing when cleaning my bird cages out, Burt's mess (even when left for a few days due to human safety issues cos he is being a horrid beast) does not seem to affect me at all (and I had no breathing issues at all when it was just him in my home) but I dread cleaning Squeaks and Birdies floors every day as both of them are really bothering my breathing and Birdie is outside in an aviary.

I am scared to ask my GP but I know I need to do something as I have been recently quite unwell with respiratory issues again- fluid on my lungs, sinus infections and allergy induced asthma none of which seems to be clearing up properly- I know I should be asking my GP about bird dander allergy test but I am unsure if I will be able to push myself to do the right thing if I am told they are affecting me negatively.

 

[Pixiebeak]

I imagine this is similar to groomers lung or most professions that involve any type of fine debris where face masks aren’t common, like mining, stonework, carpentry, etc.

Still interesting to see it pop up in less obvious situations, like pet ownership.

Yes I agree.

 

[Pixiebeak]

I really did read through maybe 20 recent papers, and not a single paper cited a new world parrot species as source of exposure.

This makes me wonder if perhaps not all parrot species are equal in the type of antigen they produce (and thus do not present equal risk in the development of bird fancier’s lung).

I think it’s a potentially important distinction, especially for those who want to keep birds but possess risk factors for bird fancier’s lung.

Thanks for doing the research!
But I have heard a few stories with gcc and conure species not science , but different forums
And people getting parrots ( can't remember species) but having reactions ( maybe more like true allergies tho)

 

[Shezbug]

Thanks for doing the research!
But I have heard a few stories with gcc and conure species not science , but different forums
And people getting parrots ( can't remember species) but having reactions ( maybe more like true allergies tho)

@April is one of these people I think you may find.

 

[WikiWaz]

I think it's odd that "Old World" involves Australia. It's just a funny definition to me.

 

[WikiWaz]

I think it's odd that "Old World" involves Australia. It's just a funny definition to me.

What I mean is, when I think "Old World," I think Asia or Europe. Not Australia.

 

[April]

@April is one of these people I think you may find.

Sadly yes,I've only had Conures and a Linnie longterm. Many years ago like 15 now I briefly had 2 Cockatiels but they were from a bad petstore and crammed together in a too small cage and I begged my mom to let me rescue them. They were untamed and very bitey but I got them separate larger cages and was working on taming them and making good progress when I lost them 3 days apart to seizures and they both died in my hands. I had Nala as well at the time and she was in the same room next to them and she was perfectly fine so I really think it was a ticking time bomb of sorts from their prior treatment before I got them that lead to me losing them only 3 months later but I bring them up to show how I haven't had any species longterm that are well documented to have caused bird keepers lung or common allergic issues but I truly believe mine was more so long term(17 years total) exposure to several different birds but most importantly the fact that in all those years they were always only in my small bedrooms and that while I slept especially I was inhaling these fine particles of feather dust,pinnies debris ect that comes with having a bird no matter having a air purifier next to the cage or cleaning exceptionally well since I'm a clean freak anyway and in the end it still didn't make a difference once the issue developed hard and fast out of no where and once he was gone and with Shawna and the room cleaned the symptoms faded within a week but once I was around him taking care of him even briefly every day until he went to Shawna I'd instantly start coughing and wheezing again and again this is a tiny Linnie who was the least messy bird I've ever had in terms of feather dust ect and ironically it happened when I had him.
So it just goes to show that you truly never know because except for this instance I'm a healthy person who's only known allergic issues before hand were some cats and Timothy hay never even the slightest issue with birds of any kind before and believe you me when I had my tame Conures theyd practically live against my face snuggling and preening all the time and never even a sniffle.

 

[~Drini~]

I believe all the info and cases I have seen about tends to refer to birds that are more commonly kept in much larger groups in coops or cages that are often not cleaned daily- pigeons, doves, poultry and most are from a long time back.

This is another point I meant to make. A large (maybe majority) percentage of papers cited cases where the patients were formerly bird breeders.

Maybe one day I’ll attempt to do an actual literature review.

 

[skunkmonk]

I've just been diagnosed with Avian Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis (aka bird fancier's lung.) I only have 2 Indian Ringneck parrots. The oldest is 6yrs and the youngest is 2yrs. I've been placed on oxygen because my O2 levels can't seem to get above 70-80 on their own. (anything below 90 is considered hypoxia.) I just had a persistent cough for over a year, and everything the doctors tried couldn't get rid of it. It wasn't until I almost passed out just sitting down doing nothing that the situation elevated to emergency status, and we started doing things like CT scans, blood tests, and PFT tests. My lungs look like a war zone. It's really hard because we've developed such a bond with those birds, and as an autistic, my wife views them as her children. She's able to relate to them in a way that she struggles to do with humans.
I'm not really sure what options are available to us. The doctors tell us we have to get rid of the birds, and any subsequent exposure is going to further cause damage to my lungs until eventually they will need to be transplanted.

 

[~Drini~]

I've just been diagnosed with Avian Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis (aka bird fancier's lung.) I only have 2 Indian Ringneck parrots. The oldest is 6yrs and the youngest is 2yrs. I've been placed on oxygen because my O2 levels can't seem to get above 70-80 on their own. (anything below 90 is considered hypoxia.) I just had a persistent cough for over a year, and everything the doctors tried couldn't get rid of it. It wasn't until I almost passed out just sitting down doing nothing that the situation elevated to emergency status, and we started doing things like CT scans, blood tests, and PFT tests. My lungs look like a war zone. It's really hard because we've developed such a bond with those birds, and as an autistic, my wife views them as her children. She's able to relate to them in a way that she struggles to do with humans.
I'm not really sure what options are available to us. The doctors tell us we have to get rid of the birds, and any subsequent exposure is going to further cause damage to my lungs until eventually they will need to be transplanted.

I am sorry, my heart feels for all involved.

I am not a doctor yet, but I conduct immunology research in a disease with lung complications and am somewhat familiar. The doctors are correct that any inhalation of bird antigen will just re-ignite your symptoms.

There is hope though. I do know of a woman who was diagnosed with the same condition. She loves her cockatiels and could not give them up, so she came up with some solutions that seem to be working for her. She essentially built an enclosure with a separate air space for her birds and she has been coping well for over 2 years now. I encourage you to reach out to her personally to ask for advice. Her tiktok account is below:

TikTok - Make Your Day

It is a very dangerous game though, as it will take time to figure out what might work for you, and your lungs would continue to accumulate damage in the meanwhile. I would immediately place the birds in another air space (a heated shed/garage with windows, a family member’s home, etc.) while you figure things out.

 

[April]

I've just been diagnosed with Avian Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis (aka bird fancier's lung.) I only have 2 Indian Ringneck parrots. The oldest is 6yrs and the youngest is 2yrs. I've been placed on oxygen because my O2 levels can't seem to get above 70-80 on their own. (anything below 90 is considered hypoxia.) I just had a persistent cough for over a year, and everything the doctors tried couldn't get rid of it. It wasn't until I almost passed out just sitting down doing nothing that the situation elevated to emergency status, and we started doing things like CT scans, blood tests, and PFT tests. My lungs look like a war zone. It's really hard because we've developed such a bond with those birds, and as an autistic, my wife views them as her children. She's able to relate to them in a way that she struggles to do with humans.
I'm not really sure what options are available to us. The doctors tell us we have to get rid of the birds, and any subsequent exposure is going to further cause damage to my lungs until eventually they will need to be transplanted.

I'm so incredibly sorry to hear this. I had to rehome my little one after developing a months long cough that I couldn't shake and just felt exhausted all the time.
This exact situation is what I feared would happen if I didn't rehome once I discovered he was the reason.

I sincerely hope that if you do rehome them that you'll start to recover and things will get better for you health wise. I'm just so sorry you and your wife are in this terrible situation.