For the second time in less than a year, state officials are
urging people to remove bird feeders from their yard – this time to
contain an outbreak of salmonellosis.
For the second time in less than a year, state officials are urging people to remove bird feeders from their yard – this time to contain an outbreak of salmonellosis.
Salmonellosis is a bacterial infection affecting small brown birds known as pine siskins that live primarily in heavily wooded areas. Human contraction is highly unlikely, but pets are at risk if they eat the birds’ fecal matter.
The siskins are brown-streaked birds with yellow patches on the wings and the tail. Their diet consist mostly of seeds and they’ve very attracted to bird feeders.
They contract the disease from other birds, usually by eating fecal matter, but also by sticking their heads in feeding tubes, where there eyes come in contact with the feeder itself.
People are at risk only when handling infected birds or pets.
The California Department of Fish and Game has asked residents with feeders to remove them for 30 days and decontaminate them with water and bleach. In the future, residents should be sure to:
n Replace all food in feeders and water in birdbaths daily. Use only small amounts of food.
n Replace wooden birdfeeders with plastic or metal. Wood harbors salmonella bacteria and cannot be sanitized as effectively.
n Wear gloves when handling dead birds and bird feeders and afterwards wash with antibacterial soap.
The fish and game department also asked Northern California residents to remove feeders last July to slow an outbreak of trichomoniasis in the state’s mourning dove and band-tailed pigeon populations. For information on controlling avian diseases, visit www.dfg.ca.gov/news/news04/04060.html
Gilroy Dispatch reporter Matt King covers Santa Clara County. He can be reached at mking@gilroydispat ch.com or 847-7240.
