Doctors assessed the possibility of contracting bird flu through droppings on the balcony
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At the end of May 2023, quarantine was introduced in several areas in the south of Moscow due to cases of avian influenza infection. For the average person, this news means nothing – we are talking about the fact that the import and export of birds, fodder, feather collection and other specific procedures are prohibited. However, many townspeople were puzzled: as popular rumor says, you can become infected with the virus through bird droppings – well, Moscow, and not only pigeons, never mind shitting on an open balcony.
As noted in a conversation with an MK correspondent, ornithologist specialist Yevgeny Koblik, the risk of infection through bird droppings does exist, but Muscovites have nothing to worry about.
Feces are indeed the way the virus spreads. Even samples for bird flu in birds are taken through the anus. Therefore, there is a risk. Another thing is that near-water birds — ducks and gulls — are now sick with bird flu in Moscow. The virus has not yet been found in pigeons, and a person in everyday life most often encounters precisely pigeons and pigeon droppings.
As Koblik explained, the longer the litter lies, for example, on the balcony, the lower the risk of infection – so it’s better not to clean it up fresh, you need to let it dry. Before cleaning, use an antiseptic. However, the risk relates specifically to tactile contact – bird flu is not transmitted through the air.
– If the virus was transmitted only from the fact that somewhere nearby lies bird droppings, we could become infected in any square. Besides, it seems to me that the panic is now a little exaggerated. For example, 5 years ago, outbreaks were noticeably more serious, but human contact with seagulls and ducks is minimal, Koblik added.
Specialists in human diseases, not avian diseases, are of the same opinion. As the well-known infectious disease specialist Nikolai Malyshev told MK, in principle, it is possible to become infected through bird droppings, but this will require enormous non-trivial efforts:
– Especially if you pick it up, crush it, chew it. But people here often think: here – the bird left something somewhere – that’s it! On the other hand, thank God that people do not know and do not suspect many things. For example, there was no one at the dacha in winter, and you arrived, climbed under the bed, breathed there or swept the floor with a broom. In this way, you can get infected with a lot of unpleasant things, enterovirus, mouse fever, even meningitis. Rodents crap, then their excrement, containing infectious agents, dries up, becomes dust – and when it is inhaled, viruses are transmitted to humans.
What is the easiest way to get bird flu from a bird?
– Basically, the virus is transmitted by contact during close contact with an infected bird. But you will not sit next to a wild duck, breathe with it, kiss … In general, in order not to get infected, it is enough just to stay away from wild birds. And in no case should you swim in reservoirs where wild birds swim, especially if there is stagnant water. There is a lot of bird droppings in the water, in which the concentration of the virus is especially high.
In places where quarantine has been declared, it is better not only not to swim, but also not to have picnics on the shore. And in stagnant reservoirs one should not swim also because there are many parasites. Avoid dead birds, do not touch them even with the toe of your boot. In general, the bird flu virus is transmitted to humans extremely rarely, and mainly to those who constantly care for the bird.
— On farms, in zoos?
“Today, wild birds often come to farms to eat, so to protect them from them, many people put up nets so that wild birds do not come into contact with domestic ones. In Moscow, the risks of getting infected are practically zero: it is also hard to imagine that one of the Muscovites would suddenly start caring for migratory birds.
…Avian influenza was first discussed in 1997: then its outbreak was recorded in Hong Kong, deaths were recorded in 60% of patients. Then the virus spread to Europe, Africa, and then to our country. It is transmitted only through birds, but even the WHO does not exclude the possibility of the virus mutating and starting to be transmitted from person to person. Until this happened. But whether the virus mutates or not in the near future, no one knows. Therefore, to this day, the World Health Organization considers the H5 and H7 subtypes of avian influenza virus as having pandemic potential and recommends that countries monitor the circulation and changes of these viruses.
Newspaper headline:
Litter afraid – do not go to the balcony
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