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Re: HELP! i think my bird has aspergillosis

Posted by Dave on 3/03/06
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    On 3/03/06, Adrian wrote:
    > Actually it's my cousins bird. His name is charlie and
    > he's a lilac crowned amazon. We think he's had a rough
    > back ground and my cousin got him about a year ago. My
    > cousin asked me to watch him for an extended period of
    > time and i agreed. Charlie is stuck on an all seed diet
    > and Im having a very hard time changing that as he may
    > have only been fed seed for his entier 15 year life. Just
    > today i noticed one of his nostrills had something custy
    > around it. It kinda looked like blood clots from a
    > bloodied nose. Its a weekend now (friday) and i wont be
    > able to go to the vet till Monday. Can anyone tell me if
    > aspergillosis looks like a cloted bloody nose. Should i
    > call an emergency vet for this or will monday be ok? I
    > have a picture of what charlies nose kinda looks like but
    > its not him and the pic is not of aspergilosis either I
    > dont know if it would help anyone to picture what charlie
    > looks like but if you think it would i could e-mail it to
    > you. Any help would be greatly appreciated
    > Adrian

    What you're seeing is probably a serious external sinus
    infection which also needs Vet treatment as soon as possible.
    Aspergillosis can follow one of two courses - acute or
    chronic. Birds with acute aspergillosis have severe
    difficulty breathing, decreased or loss of appetite, frequent
    drinking and urination, cyanosis (a bluish coloration of
    mucous membranes and/or skin), and even sudden death. The
    fungus generally affects the trachea, syrinx (voice box), and
    air sacs. The lungs may also be involved. Diagnosis is
    generally made through a post-mortem examination.
    Chronic aspergillosis is much more common, and
    unfortunately, much more deadly due to its insidious nature.
    The bird may not become symptomatic until the disease has
    progressed too far for a cure. The respiratory system is the
    primary location of infection. White nodules appear and
    ultimately erode through the tissue, and large numbers of
    spores enter the bloodstream. The spores then travel
    throughout the body, infecting multiple organs including
    kidneys, skin, muscle, gastrointestinal tract, liver, eyes,
    and brain. Your cousin should visit the vet and have the bird
    checked. Antibiotics may be necessary------Dave