• Question: do birds carry dieses

    Asked by Salim to Jonathan, Kellie, Kevin, Melissa on 4 May 2016.
    • Photo: Kevin Baker

      Kevin Baker answered on 4 May 2016:


      Hey Salim.

      Yes, birds do carry diseases. For example, the bird flu comes from birds! All sorts of parasites can live in their poop as well.

    • Photo: Melissa Wilson Sayres

      Melissa Wilson Sayres answered on 4 May 2016:


      Yep! We can see transmission from water fowl to domesticated fowl (like chickens) to humans. And back. Diseases that can spread between different species are called zoonotic.

    • Photo: Jonathan Jackson

      Jonathan Jackson answered on 4 May 2016:


      I also wanted to add that sometimes animals carry bacteria or viruses that do not harm them, but can be harmful to us. And vice versa. So sometimes it’s only a disease depending on which species gets sick from it!

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