upatsix.com - Your Source For Pet Bird Information

BT just had an article come out on it. Anyone know who is likely to be affected? Any more info?

Anyone can be affected. You are more likely to have an issue if you have or had asthma, copd, emphysema, or other lung problems. The issue comes about when you are cleaning cages and the dust and dander are inhaled. If you have african greys, cockatoo's, cockatiel's they are some of the worst offenders because of the large quantity of particulates that are produced. Also pigeons when you are around or inside of their lofts. The best defense is to have a seperate bird room with jumbo air filtration going.

It's pretty common ailment no matter what kind of birds you keep/breed. I’ve lost cockatiel breeder friends as well as budgie breeder friends to “bird lung.” It's causes by all the bird dander as well as dust from cleaning cages. If you don't protect yourself by wearing a mask when working in the aviary or having air filters in the home it WILL catch up with you. Once you get it you have the choice of keeping your birds or trying to breath - and no, it's not a pretty ending to life either. You are tied to an oxygen tank and your are always trying to get enough air to breath.

Take care of your lungs now!

that is scary... I am not a breeder, but I have 3 tiels and asthma--which has never really been a problem with the birds (not allergy induced)... but maybe I should invest in an airfilter anyway....

Birdkeeper's lung is also called "allergic alveolitis". It occurs when tiny bits of feather dander are inhaled into the lungs, and an immune-mediated reaction occurs. This immune-mediated reaction to the feather dander is what causes the damage (not the feather dander itself). Over time, chronic inflammation at the level of the small air sacs in the lungs (the alveoli) leads to scar tissue (fibrosis), and that causes difficulties in oxygen diffusion from the air space to the circulation. The result is a sensation of breathlessness.

Once fibrosis occurs, it is irreversible. In the earlier stages, there is some reversibility of the chronic inflammation (without fibrosis). As such, prevention and management early in the course of the disease are essential.

Allergic alveolitis is seen more commonly in those who keep birds that produce a lot of feather dander. This means that cockatoos, cockatiels, and African Greys are among the bigger offenders for those susceptible to this disease. However, other species can cause allergic alveolitis in susceptible people.

Not everyone will develop allergic alveolitis. It isn't terribly common either. Most people, if they develop shortness of breath around their birds, turn out to have asthma-related allergies to the birds and their breathlessness is related to constricted bronchioles (asthma), not to allergic alveolitis. That being said, either condition can lead to chronic problems if it isn't addressed.

However, for those who DO develop allergic alveolitis, it becomes a lifetime thing to cope with. Depending on when it is caught and treated, it could require as little as some anti-inflammatory treatment (often including Prednisone) and removal from exposure to the allergens (feather dander) .... all the way to home oxygen and chronic lung treatments to improve breathing as much as possible (and removal from exposure to the allergens).

Removal from exposure to the allergens can be achieved in one of two ways. Either the birds are rehomed and removed entirely from the house, or the birds are kept in a part of the house that can be renovated so that ALL air circulates completely INDEPENDENTLY of the rest of the home's air. This is NOT achieved with HEPA filtration -- that is inadequate for this condition as there will still be ongoing exposure to the allergens (which will only cause progression of the lung disease in the person affected). It IS achieved by installing an entirely separate air circulation system in the bird room that vents to the outside.

I've personally treated one person who had this disorder (I am an MD). She was ~26 yrs old, and had acquired a cockatoo 8 months prior to becoming breathless. She was worked up for a pulmonary embolism as that was what we initially thought she had, but then the history of the cockatoo came to the forefront, the PE work-up was negative, and it was discovered (through consultation with a respirologist) that she had allergic alveolitis. She rehomed her cockatoo.

I also know of a friend's husband who developed this and became VERY ill with it (on oxygen, etc.). They managed to convert their garage into a bird room and put it on separate air circulation, so they were able to keep their many birds.

In terms of prevention, it probably helps to use adequate HEPA filtration in the room that houses the birds, especially if you have one of the listed species that produce more feather dander. This will lower the exposure to the allergens, which may prevent (or at least diminish) the onset of this disease in susceptible people. It also probably helps to wear a respirator N95 mask (not just any mask) when doing heavy jobs that produce a lot of dust in the air (deep cleaning cages, vacuuming with lots of feather dust in the air, etc.). This may help prevent allergic alveolitis, but it is insufficient to treat it if you develop the disorder -- at that stage, it's a must to FULLY separate the person from the feather dander.

Oh, and who is susceptible? We don't really know. Some who get this did have a history of allergies to other things, and/or asthma. Others who get this have no such history.

Hope this info helps!

Most excellent post, Skye. I've had as many as 30 tiels in my flock, 3 greys, and a cockatoo. I sometimes sneeze while cleaning after my cockatiels and have wondered how seriously to take this symptom. Your information tells me that my reaction is probably a minor allergy, not incipient alveolitis. I'm breathing easier already!

Thank you very much!

Skye wrote:Oh, and who is susceptible? We don't really know. Some who get this did have a history of allergies to other things, and/or asthma. Others who get this have no such history.

Are pre-existing allergies etc. associated with higher risk? If so (it seems likely), how elevated is the risk?

Petter wrote:

Skye wrote:Oh, and who is susceptible? We don't really know. Some who get this did have a history of allergies to other things, and/or asthma. Others who get this have no such history.

Are pre-existing allergies etc. associated with higher risk? If so (it seems likely), how elevated is the risk?

Petter, I am not aware of any studies that have investigated this association. However, as I said at the end of my post, there are patients who develop allergic alveolitis who had no prior known allergies, and those that did have prior allergies.

Given the nature of the immune system (complex), and the nature of allergic alveolitis, I would not know or feel comfortable telling anyone that "because you are allergic to birds, you have a higher risk of developing allergic alveolitis". However, I would counsel them that their bird allergy could cause ongoing chronic problems such as rhinitis, asthma, etc., so it would be best in those cases to limit exposure. Depending on the person's severity and underlying nature of their allergies, they'd have to determine the best course of action in terms of living with their birds (i.e., improving HEPA filtration, decreasing exposure, etc.). Still, though, these types of allergies are different than allergic alveolitis in that they can be controlled (to some extent) by modifying contact with the birds and improving air filtration, whereas allergic alveolitis really does require COMPLETE separation including air supplies of birds & person affected.

How's that for a non-answer? LOL

Bluesbird Exotics wrote:Most excellent post, Skye. I've had as many as 30 tiels in my flock, 3 greys, and a cockatoo. I sometimes sneeze while cleaning after my cockatiels and have wondered how seriously to take this symptom. Your information tells me that my reaction is probably a minor allergy, not incipient alveolitis. I'm breathing easier already!

Thank you very much!

Sneezing after cleaning is most commonly because of the fine particulates that get into the nostrils (and further back) rather than due to an allergy. If it was due to an allergy, USUALLY (not always) there is also runny eyes, runny nose, or wheezing (or a combination of those things) associated with the sneezing.

Certainly sneezing itself is not a symptom of allergic alveolitis! The primary symptoms of allergic alveolitis are shortness of breath (which can become severe), plus/minus decreased oxygenation, and sometimes chest tightness.

Skye wrote:How's that for a non-answer?

Pretty exhaustive and comprehensive, I think!

I ask (unsurprisingly) because I want birds at some point in the future, but I have a number of allergies (to my knowledge, I am not allergic to any birds -- except for eating chicken -- and the dusty Cacatua aren't on the table, anyway). My allergies seem to multiply, too, but generally within certain groups (e.g., an allergy to soy protein following the pre-existing peanut allergy first seemed 'arbitrary', but when chick peas etc. followed it became clear that I'm sensitive to most legumes). Obviously I would do well to talk to an actual allergy specialist, once I either have more money or a job with medical benefits, but in the meantime I'm soaking up all the information I can about the likelihood of correlations.

Skye wrote:Sneezing after cleaning is most commonly because of the fine particulates that get into the nostrils (and further back) rather than due to an allergy. If it was due to an allergy, USUALLY (not always) there is also runny eyes, runny nose, or wheezing (or a combination of those things) associated with the sneezing.

Certainly sneezing itself is not a symptom of allergic alveolitis! The primary symptoms of allergic alveolitis are shortness of breath (which can become severe), plus/minus decreased oxygenation, and sometimes chest tightness.

More good news for me, since I have none of these other symptoms. TY! We're hitting our usual seasonal highs for pollens, particularly oak, in my area this week. I had a painful 36-hour headache that I attributed to this, but today I've stayed inside, in the AC, with my dusty birds, and no headache. Hoorah! I'm going out now to do some planting, so this may all change, but it's been nice today.

Thanks again, Skye, and best of luck, Petter.

I found a forum that anyone can post and is very interesting about BK lung
http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/post ... 9&trail=15
very interesting