Texas PetSmart Stores Quarantine All Birds
POSTED: Friday, March 3, 2006
HOUSTON -- Birds at every
PetSmart store in Texas, including 18 locations in Houston, have been quarantined and are undergoing tests for parrot fever.
An official with the company said two cockatiels tested positive for parrot fever in a Texas store.
Health officials said the fever is a common bird respiratory infection that can spread to humans. They said it is not a case of the bird flu.
"The mode of transmission is in the feces. People go to clean the cage and the feces has dried. It becomes dust and is then inhaled by the human," health official Dan Jordan told KPRC Local 2.
All customers who have bought the birds have been notified.
The location of the infected birds has not been released.
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