!!!!! WARNING!!!!!!

[Buzzard-1]

WARNING PIGEON OWNERS

Warning to all fanciers, That there is a highly contagious disease going around Melbourne and country Victoria, it has KILLED 95% of the birds in the affected lofts.The BEST thing would be to have no further SALES (movement of birds in and/or out of your lofts) until this Medical Situation is fully clarified, and Notification from the Authorities to let us, as a whole Nation, KNOW when it is safe to “move forward”.
Any sales now, requiring “unknown status” birds traveling, would be nothing short of Irresponsible.. PLEASE THINK before doing Any thing.
THERE IS TO MUCH TO RISK!!!!!!!!
Time will tell, so just have patience. If you have concerns with your own birds health please contacts Dr Colin Walker on 9764 9000.

[jusdeb]

Is this one of those cooties that can jump to humans or other avian species ?

WOW serious sxxt .... sympathies to all those pigeon fanciers losing birds ....fingers crossed for a speedy solution.

[Danny]

Does this threat have a name????????? Nothing has come up about it on the avian vet chat rooms.

[Diane]

Just done a search on the paragraph and came up with this.....haven't even read it myself yet.
http://www.anpa.com.au/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/AustNPA/message/3422" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Danny]

Just done a search on the paragraph and came up with this.....haven't even read it myself yet.
http://www.anpa.com.au/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks for that. Its a paramyxovirus (same family as Newcastle disease) but from the info seems quite host specific to pigeons other the poultry industry would be in shutdown and it would be all over the news.

[Diane]

Can this effect finches too?

[Danny]

Can this effect finches too?

No idea at this stage. Many paramyxoviruses affect passerine birds the least but its quite variable.

[Myzomela]

The shop which was the origin of the outbreak also had parrots, finches and other cage birds which so far I believe had not been infected.
It appears so far that only pigeons (fancy breeds) in Victoria have been affected.

[Diane]

Guess it remains to be seen if this is a low lying disease with a long incubation stage or has carrier birds. Hope not in both cases.

[GregH]

Well according to today's Age newspaper avian paramyxovirus can not only infect other bird species it can infect humans (causing a mild influenza-like symptoms and or conjunctivitis). So it's not just the exchange of birds that could cause problems - even visitors to our aviaries/lofts could theoretically introduce the disease. Let's hope that it peeters out fast.