Today i picked up a bird an outside cat attacked, now im scared of bird flu

[u/Muted-View1848]

I (F21) picked up a bird & was nursing it back to health after i found it being toyed with by an outside cat. Im in california which has been declared a state of emergency for bird flu. I am so terrified right now. I was touching this bird for an hour, probably touching my face unconsciously & stuff like that. Should i be worried? What are things i can do now to make sure jm safe & healthy?

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[u/DepartmentOutrageous]

Bird flu is very, very rarely spread from birds to humans. Just make sure to wash your hands before and after handling in the future.

Another comment, please take the bird to a wildlife rehabber asap. Cat saliva is toxic to birds and will kill them very quickly even if there’s no obvious wounds.

[u/Patagioenas_plumbea → u/DepartmentOutrageous]

Cat saliva isn't toxic to birds, but the bacteria (Pasteurella multocida, to be precise) will lead to an infection that is going to be lethal unless treated with an antibiotic.

[u/DepartmentOutrageous → u/Patagioenas_plumbea]

Oh I know! Much simpler to just say cat saliva is bad though. :)

[u/Imaginary-Ostrich515]

I wouldn’t worry too much, the major carriers for bird flu are domestic birds, waterfowl, and raptors and it’s unlikely that a cat would be toying with one. Bird flu also typically spreads through breathing in dried feces so you don’t have to worry about it too much touching a live bird.

That being said, attempting to rehabilitate birds on your own is both dangerous for the bird as they require very specialized care and with rare exception illegal in the US. If you find yourself in another situation like this the best thing to do is contact a licensed rehabber and bring the bird to them.

[u/JankroCommittee]

Ok. First, let’s make sure we know how to do this in the future. Poke holes in box, line with paper towel. Put bird in box, no food or water. Drive bird to rehabilitation center. Never let cat outside again. Build Catio.

No need to touch the bird for an hour, no you are not nursing it back to health. Birds in contact with cats need antibiotics ASAP to survive.

You did not mention species, but I will guess songbird. We are not seeing HPAI in them, but next time do things differently for the sake of the bird.

[u/buck-hearted]

next time, use gloves. wash your hands, maybe just shower, but aside from that just keep an eye on your health

[u/Kunok2]

Depends a lot on what type of bird it was, doves and pigeons are resistant to avian influenza. The others have already said everything else necessary.

[u/MountainSasquatch]

If it helps to hear, bird flu is by no means a death sentence. It is (so far) the flu. Unpleasant, but rarely life-threatening. Not to trivialize it—it’s wise to take all reasonable precautions (and always wise to avoid handling wild animals) but unless you’re immunocompromised, even in the unlikely event that that bird was infected AND in a contagious phase AND you contracted it, you’re likely gonna be fine. Sorry your good deed has you stressed out— hang in there.

[u/GlitterBirb → u/MountainSasquatch]

Wait, then what is the statistic about the 60 percent fatality rate?

[u/MountainSasquatch → u/GlitterBirb]

Important disclaimer: Im a biologist, not a doctor. Yeah, one particular strain of highly-pathogenic AI HAS shown a roughly 60% fatality rate of REPORTED cases. I’m not trying to trivialize the danger of this, but the thing to keep in mind is that reported cases are not a representative subset of all cases— likely many more cases that were not reported were more mild.

[u/belmontbluebird]

Like the others said. You'll be OK. Call an animal rehab and let someone with experience help the bird. It will have a better chance of recovery.

[u/Michaelalayla]

I'm pretty sure the biggest threats of infection to humans (and other mammals) are animal products. Like, a pet cat died in Oregon recently from eating frozen pet food (turkey flavor) from a local company. Eggs, of course, which is why the current egg shortage and 200% price gouge on eggs. And raw milk is dangerous because cows already have it, and bird flu is being found in raw milk supplies.

Pasteurization fixes this.

Don't do what you did again, but it is rare for it to spread from birds directly to humans and from what I've read it requires prolonged (like, a whole work day, work week, being a poultry farmer or ornithologist, etc.) contact with birds. If you're worried, monitor your temperature and drink more fluids than usual, keep an eye on your health, but you're probably ok.