Ravens live next to a person solely for food, including waste. But crows attack a person or contact a bird for other reasons. Candidate of medical sciences, doctor of infectious diseases, medical director of INVITRO-YUG Svetlana Mashkova told socialbites.ca about the results of this.
Crows themselves are not a source of danger if you do not come into contact with them. However, the doctor explained that these birds can be aggressive, as they are highly intelligent and can protect their nests, chicks and eggs.
“Sometimes crows may attack a furry person and mistake it for an animal considered potentially dangerous. Ravens have a memory and may attack the same animal because they remember that it once destroyed their nest or caused other damage,” the doctor said.
In addition, contact with a crow is dangerous in terms of the transmission of an infectious disease such as ornithosis. This disease can be transmitted by birds that are both obviously sick (lethargic, ragged, etc.) and, at first glance, absolutely healthy.
Ornithosis is a disease caused by the bacterium Chlamydia Psitache. Chlamydia is excreted in crows feces and spread to feathers. A crow, with the help of a beak, spreads its feces all over the body, and you can get this disease when you come into contact with an infected bird, ”said the infectious disease specialist.
Also, this chlamydia is transmitted by airborne dust. Thus, bird droppings are mixed into dust. They dry up and the dust is carried by the wind when the birds take off. A person can become infected simply by breathing this dust. This is especially true where birds congregate on rooftops.
You can understand that ornithosis infection occurs as follows: the disease progresses with fever, respiratory syndrome – cough, shortness of breath, that is, chlamydial pneumonia actually develops with all the ensuing consequences. Intoxication, respiratory failure is also possible and can be different depending on the presence of concomitant diseases, the general condition of the body and the severity of the disease. By itself, this disease does not go away, special treatment is required and, of course, it is necessary to consult a specialist. The doctor will determine which antibiotics to use to treat this pneumonia.
“Crows are scavengers, they often come into contact with the corpses of animals and other birds, and when a crow attacks with its beak and claws, you can get various pathogenic flora in the wound, which can cause an inflammatory process. Therefore, after a crow attack and any contact with these birds, if there is no skin damage, wash your hands (or the part of the body that comes into contact with the bird) with soap and water and use a skin. antiseptic. If there are wounds, be sure to wash with hydrogen peroxide to remove large particles from there, and for more complex and serious lesions, consult a doctor. If soil gets into the wound, prophylaxis against tetanus is also necessary, ”the doctor emphasized.
Formerly socialbites.ca Wrote about what can be infected with a squirrel bite.