Common infectious diseases of psittacine birds seen in practice.
The "average" small animal practitioner who sees pet birds in practice comes across a variety of bacterial, fungal, protozoal, viral, and chlamydial diseases. Diagnosis and treatment of some are relatively uncomplicated, but many psittacine diseases remain enigmatic. Ante-mortem diagnosis of some diseases is extremely difficult. The clinician must often rely on combinations of clinical signs, clinical pathology, and experience to diagnose many bird diseases correctly. Many viral diseases are devastating to collections and have no cure, preventive program, or even well-documented modes of transmission. Some psittacine syndromes have yet to be definitively associated with a particular infectious agent. Get to know your local federal, state, and private diagnostic laboratories. Good relationships with other avian practitioners, both locally and through the Association of Avian Veterinarians can be extremely helpful. (See the article on sources of information.)
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D000818:Animals; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000662:veterinary; D001715:Bird Diseases; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000662:veterinary; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000662:veterinary*; D009175:Mycoplasma Infections / Q000662:veterinary; D009181:Mycoses / Q000662:veterinary; D010273:Parasitic Diseases, Animal; D011529:Protozoan Infections, Animal; D011563:Psittaciformes; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000662:veterinary