Press Release: PetSmart Quarantine/Psittacosis

[Kerry C]

Georgia Department of Agriculture
Tommy Irvin, Commissioner
19 Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. SW
Atlanta , GA 30334
www.agr.georgia <http://www.agr.georgia/> . gov

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 28, 2007
For information: Arty Schronce, Jackie Sosby or Yao Seidu at (404)
656-3689

Georgia Agriculture Dept. Quarantines
Some Pet Stores Due to Psittacosis

The Georgia Department of Agriculture is quarantining PetSmart stores
in the state and a Superpetz store in Martinez due to psittacosis, a
bird disease that can be transferred to humans, Commissioner of
Agriculture Tommy Irvin announced today.

Psittacosis is a bacterial disease that primarily affects parrots,
parakeets and other members of the parrot family. It is treatable but
can be fatal to the birds. Only in rare cases does it infect poultry.
The disease produces flu-like symptoms in humans, but it does not
respond to treatments for the flu. The disease is especially
dangerous to the young, the elderly and people with weakened immune
systems such as persons with chronic disease, AIDS or HIV infection or
those taking chemotherapy for cancer.

"We have had two confirmed cases of psittacosis at PetSmart stores in
Hiram and Woodstock . There have also been confirmed cases at the
dealer, Preferred Birds of Milton, Florida, that supplied birds to all
the stores we are quarantining," said Commissioner Irvin.

"PetSmart had already begun a quarantine, but the quarantine did not
meet all state requirements. We are requiring PetSmart and Superpetz
to move the birds away from the public and to begin using medicated
feed to treat the birds. The quarantine will last 45 days or until
released by our State Veterinarian," said Commissioner Irvin.

The quarantine applies only to birds sold at the stores, not to other
animals.

If you purchased a bird from PetSmart or the Martinez Superpetz and
have concerns about its health, please contact your veterinarian, or
if you have concerns about your health, contact your health care
provider or local health department.

[Mithu]

Hmm i have purchased my two females about 5 months ago, but they are fine..
Thanks for update :)

[Babyluv12]

Why am I not suprized...I had an incident where I had to point out a dying budgie to them before...sad...atleast they're forced to do something about it...

[BUUZBEE]

I was reading about this too. They were saying the levels of Psittacosis was higher than normal, so they knew there was a problem ( are any levels good??? duh!)

[atvchick95]

is this just for certain states? or is it for everywhere?

[budgies]

This is what I was talking about in another thread, I was at a Petsmart (and at two other local pet stores too, to be fair) there were a few birds that were obviously very ill... and they were still in with all the other birds. The last time I stopped by, they had a sign up stating they would sell no birds due to an illness, but no other info. These stores are located in Pennsylvania, not sure if or where else it's happening...

[atvchick95]

My boyfriend just called me from our local pet shop, (it's NOT a pet smart or any other chain pet shop it's a locally owned one) and they are not selling thier birds either because of the Psittacosis outbreak and we live in Muncie , Indiana - so it must be all around the country/united states

which really stinks because as soon as he told me they still have the same excat love bird sitting in the same excat tiney cage they had when i was there almost 2 months ago for $49.00 I told him FIND the money I don't care how just buy it - there is no reason for a love bird to be in a tiney cage( it was filthy when i was there) for 2 months or longer
But they are not selling no birds right now, and I prob. won't buy any more from any of the pet shops for months after this stuff is done and over with

[Sazarac]

http://www.wesh.com/news/14964863/detail.html

"PetSmart has stopped selling birds in 46 stores nationwide because some tested positive for a bacteria called Psittacosis.

It appears the source of the infected birds was a vendor in Florida, officials said.
PetSmart said it has a record of customers who might be affected.

If you just bought a bird from PetSmart, you should change their cage everyday, experts said.

If their droppings turn lime green, it could be a sign they are infected.

Wash your hands after handling your bird and make sure you feed the bird a good diet. Hess said he likes pellets because they're balanced.

If you suspect your bird has Psittacosis because they are drowsy and not eating well, have a veterinarian test the bird".

:eek: Wow, this is really scary! Should I be worried if I've been in any petstore recently? I noticed the parakeets in the Petsmart in Pasadena, Texas seems "low", but it was a bit chilly so I figured they were simply cold. Right now Keewee seems fine. I'm still concerned. This is awful. :(

Saz

[Violetblue]

They get these birds from what are tantamount to "budgie mills" from large breeders, so it's not hard to imagine that multiple states are affected.

Gack, Petsmart and Petco suck so bad on so many levels.

[Sazarac]

It's because the see them as commodities rather then living breathing, feeling creatures.

I worked in a mall petstore briefly many many years ago, and I was appalled by all the dead critters they had stuffed in the freezer. Luckily I worked with the fish and had a very low mortality rate. Which was pretty amazing considering.

I will never buy any animals from pet stores again. Just the stuff to take care of them!

Has anyone else noticed the quarantine other then Georgia and Indiana? I'll have to ask around here in Texas.

Saz

They get these birds from what are tantamount to "budgie mills" from large breeders, so it's not hard to imagine that multiple states are affected.

Gack, Petsmart and Petco suck so bad on so many levels.

[redpigtails]

thats horrible - im glad im in australia! i can just imagine all those poor quarrantined budgies - im suprised that the pet shop didnt just kill them all, rather than pay for treatment. i suppose that would make them look bad, well, worse than they already do.
pet shops DO treat animals as a commodity, as a product. its really sad. but its nothing like the meat/dairy industry....

[Babyluv12]

That's not good news if it seems to be in multiple states. Humans can contract it as well...and carry it home to their birds.I'll be staying out of petstores for a good while.

[atvchick95]

I went to our local pet smart this evening, and they got all the birds together (budgies w/ budgies) Finches with finches, BUT they're all side by side, and they've got signs' posted that they can not sell any birds until late January, The birds are still out in the open not quaratined from other species or eachother

[Babyluv12]

I went to our local pet smart this evening, and they got all the birds together (budgies w/ budgies) Finches with finches, BUT they're all side by side, and they've got signs' posted that they can not sell any birds until late January, The birds are still out in the open not quaratined from other species or eachother

That's not much of a quarantine, esspecially since humas can get ill as well.

[sammy2850]

could it be in nsw as well im really worried even though my budgies seem to be fine im not getting anymore budgies yet.

[keet_tweet4]

*Sigh* Another reason why pet stores shouldn't sell animals...

I really feel sorry for the birds having to suffer. :(


which really stinks because as soon as he told me they still have the same excat love bird sitting in the same excat tiney cage they had when i was there almost 2 months ago for $49.00 I told him FIND the money I don't care how just buy it - there is no reason for a love bird to be in a tiney cage( it was filthy when i was there) for 2 months or longer
But they are not selling no birds right now, and I prob. won't buy any more from any of the pet shops for months after this stuff is done and over with

If you see a bad conditions in a pet store, the second-worst thing you can do is buy the bird (or "rescue" it as some people call it) worst thing is to do nothing. As soon as you hand the money over to the store, they buy another bird to torture. Best thing to do is to talk to the manager, and if they can't do anything get the ASPCA or whatever you have around where you live involved.

[xxxIcarusxxx]

I went to a pet store and the tiels had no toys and in a small cage :mad: I asked when they will be given toys and they said they will leave that up to whoever buys them :mad:

[miissemilyx33]

Gack, Petsmart and Petco suck so bad on so many levels.

Around here, I won't disagree with Petsmart sucking, but our local Petco isn't too bad. When we bought Riley, my mom wanted to ask the manager if [s]he thought he was okay because he was all ruffly and he was being picked on. The manager came over and spent over ten minutes looking him over without even knowing we were interested in buying him. All of their birds seem to be in clean cages with fresh food and water. Now their fish...that's another story, until I laid into them. I haven't seen one misplaced fish since that day :p
Back onto the seriousness of this...

I'll have to go in and see if they're doing anything about this as the only "locally owned" bird store near us closed down years ago. They hand fed their birds since they were young and played with them and in general got them to be loving pets. Unfortunatly, as I said, they closed.

Perhaps I'll print that out and give it to the managers to make sure they're doing what they can for their birds and their customers.

What are the symptoms I can look for in the birds to make sure Riley and Nikki are okay? I'm guessing if anything's suspected I need to keep them seperate from each other [and our family] and probably take them to a vet...only our nearest avian vet is about a six hour ride away.

[Sazarac]

Psittacosis, or Parrot Fever

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psittacosis

"Symptoms in birds include "inflamed eyes, difficulty in breathing, watery droppings and green urates. They may appear droopy and have diarrhea and a nasal discharge".

"In humans, after incubation period of 5-14 days, the symptoms of the disease range from in apparent illness to systemic illness with severe pneumonia. It presents chiefly as an atypical pneumonia. In the first week of psittacosis the symptoms mimic typhoid fever: prostrating high fevers, arthralgias, diarrhea, conjunctivitis, epistaxis and leukopenia. Rose spots can appear and these are called Horder's spots.[3] Splenomegaly (huh?!) is frequent toward the end of first week".

Sounds like people get the same symptoms as budgies. Inflamed eyes, difficulty in breathing and diarrhea. Sounds nasty either way.

Notice any sick pet store employees lately? :vomit:

BTW, PetSmart's dealer is Preferred Birds of Florida.
http://www.nwfdailynews.com/article/11080

"The Washington Department of Health (DOH) recently was notified that a Florida-based pet bird vendor has supplied 45 states including Washington State with birds potentially infected with Chlamydophila psittaci. The cities in Washington State with PetSmart stores that were recipients of pet birds from the Florida Vendor are Bellingham, Burlington, Everett, Federal Way, Issaquah, Kennewick, Lacey, Lakewood, Lynnwood, Puyallup, Seattle, Silverdale, Spokane, Tacoma, Tukwila, Union Gap, Vancouver, and Woodinville".

Hopefully we'll get more specific locations soon so people know what stores to avoid.

I found some more info, sounds more wide spread then first thought.
http://www.newslocale.org/health/hnews/parrot_fever_danger_from_diseased_pet_birds_in_the _us_20071230846.html
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080103/OPINION/801030582/1029
http://www.omakchronicle.com/nws/n071228a.shtml

I'm going to stay home and hide for the next month! :scared:

Saz

[atvchick95]

That's not much of a quarantine, esspecially since humas can get ill as well.


thats the same thing i thought, but i was surprised the birds had many toys, nice sized cages and from what i saw all looked healthy- i know that don't mean anything in the long run, but I've been to some stores that sell budgies and they just didn't look good at all

i'm just glad i was going there for some stainless steel food/water dishes and a aquarium heater

[parakeetlover]

wow this is funny, because we were just thinking of getting more parakeets..just like 2 or 3! And here i am reading this article lol. Well, if petsmart isn't a good place to buy your parakeets than where should you get them from? In my area there's like a couple of petsmarts and that's pretty much it, you can't really find parakeets...

hmm is this problem also in "today's pet" because that's where i got my parakeets a loong time ago. i've never bought anything from petsmart except for parakeet seed that's pretty much it. *sigh* well there goes my plan to buy more parakeets lol.

[Kerry C]

Well, if petsmart isn't a good place to buy your parakeets than where should you get them from? In my area there's like a couple of petsmarts and that's pretty much it, you can't really find parakeets....

Net work though you local bird club(s). They will know who the good breeders are and who to say away from. These clubs are great to make new friends with same intereste as well as learning about your birds and other species, keep up with what the law makers are trying to pass in your state - etc.

[Kerry C]

What are the symptoms I can look for in the birds to make sure Riley and Nikki are okay? I'm guessing if anything's suspected I need to keep them separate from each other [and our family] and probably take them to a vet...only our nearest avian vet is about a six hour ride away.

Different species show different signs. Cockatiels usually have watery eyes, then there is the neon green poop. However if the bird is just in the beginning states you may not have all of this. That is why it is so VERY important to take ALL new birds to an avian vet for a new bird check out AND testing. While you are waiting for the results of the tests to come back you quarantine all new birds for 30 days away from your current stock. Usually a bathroom is the best place. These birds should be the last birds you service the cage for of the day. The bathroom reminds you to throughly wash your hands each time you work with these birds.

It is always less expensive and time consuming to medicate one bird than an entire flock of birds AND your family at a later date.

[keet_tweet4]

wow this is funny, because we were just thinking of getting more parakeets..just like 2 or 3! And here i am reading this article lol. Well, if petsmart isn't a good place to buy your parakeets than where should you get them from? In my area there's like a couple of petsmarts and that's pretty much it, you can't really find parakeets...

hmm is this problem also in "today's pet" because that's where i got my parakeets a loong time ago. i've never bought anything from petsmart except for parakeet seed that's pretty much it. *sigh* well there goes my plan to buy more parakeets lol.

Try adopting one from a rescue, there are hundreds out there in need of homes.

[parakeetlover]

Try adopting one from a rescue, there are hundreds out there in need of homes.

Yes that's what i want to do! But i don't know if we have any in our area... i'll search and find out! :)

[ronsig]

Try adopting one from a rescue, there are hundreds out there in need of homes.

Excellent idea! I got my newest budgie "Tweety" from the Humane Society. He was listed on their website.

Yesterday, I was at a Petsmart in Buffalo, New York. All the cages were empty with a sign: "No birds available for sale because of testing and treatment"

Sigrid:budgie: :budgie:

[parakeetlover]

Yesterday, I was at a Petsmart in Buffalo, New York. All the cages were empty with a sign: "No birds available for sale because of testing and treatment"

Sigrid:budgie: :budgie:

I was at Petsmart today to get seeds for my parakeets and they had parakeets in the cages but they had a sign up saying that they would start selling the birds in the end of January because of testing and treatment.

Should parakeet owners worry? or is this just with petsmart?

[Marsheliah]

Awww... >.>

I stopped going to PetSmart a while ago. I hate the conditions.

I go to PetCo, which around here, is a lovely store.

The budgies are kept in a large glass enclosure with toys, millet, pellets and seed, cuttlebone, and many perches! Cockatiels in similar environment. The other birds are kept in pairs or singly, with bars or bars and glass separating from each other, or even walls. Glass and bars separate from people looking. No poking fingers. All birds are on pellets (bigger ones anyways) with toys, adequate perches, and clean cages. Nice stuff too. I love that store...

I'm glad no quarantines around here.

[Babyluv12]

I stopped going to PetSmart a while ago. I hate the conditions.



Same here. I've never bought a single bird from there or even a bag of seed. Their hygiene was never up to par in my eyes.

[keet_tweet4]

Our petsmart is ok but I don't like chain stores.

We don't have Petco here.

We do have a horrible store called "Pet Cetera". They keep their birds in these weird plastic-cave things behind glass, and they only have dowels for perches and the food & water dishes are on the floor. It is sickening. :(

[ravengypsy]

I received one bird from Petsmart from my husband about 6 weeks ago (ours is a nice store as far as petstores go), and although I kept her in quarantine for 30 days with no symptoms I'm still worried. I just recently put that bird in the aviary before hearing about this. I will probably go get her tested just to be safe.

[2beagleboys]

.. any of this spead to Canada?... anyone hear anything?
My bird is sick its been over a week since i got her...she an English budgie though??

[ronsig]

I just looked at the petsmart website, and there is a press release:
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=196265&p=factset11
It doesn't say anything about Canada, and budgies are not mentioned either.

I would take the bird to the vet:)

Sigrid :budgie: :budgie:

[atvchick95]

it says its only cockatiels, but if those cockatiels are around all the other species wouldn't they get it as well?

And it also said they're contacting the pet parents who's purchased birds from the infected stores

I don't know if all pet smart stores are ran the same way or not but i've bought quit a few of my budgies from our pet smart and No one has ever taken my contact info, I've paid cash for them

So if i was to buy a bird from a infected pet smart, how would they contact me??

[tstmard]

After reading all of this I'm slightly concerned. On Tuesday I bought 2 new birds from Petco. Which the one here is very well kept, they were actually cleaning the cages when I was there, and they always look very clean. But I agree with everyone else as far as Petsmart goes:furious: Which I know when I went into the Petsmart here in Idaho back before Christmas to look for something for my fish they had signs up on all of thier bird cages, that they were not selling them then. But anyways after getting my new birds I read alittle about Psittacosis and on the couple of sites I read they hadn't mentioned the lime green poop. So when I read that here I got a little concerned because for the first 2 days my new birds did have runny lime green poop. But now it does look pretty normal and the birds act normal. I do have them ina seperate room from my other birds and I take care of them after my other birds. So do you think the runny lime green poops could be from the change of enviroments? Would they show more signs if they were sick? They are very alert, active, and eat just fine. I come in here many times to find the albino IN the food dish and the other one right there eating away, and when I change their food it's mainly empty shells. So should I be concerned or do you think it was just from the change?

[Wonderbird]

it says its only cockatiels, but if those cockatiels are around all the other species wouldn't they get it as well?

And it also said they're contacting the pet parents who's purchased birds from the infected stores

I don't know if all pet smart stores are ran the same way or not but i've bought quit a few of my budgies from our pet smart and No one has ever taken my contact info, I've paid cash for them

So if i was to buy a bird from a infected pet smart, how would they contact me??

When I got my birds at petsmart, I had to fill out a form with my contact information. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think this form had duplicate pages on it so that the store got a copy and the buyer got a copy. I might be remembering incorrectly as it has been a little less than a year since I filled one out.

[Wonderbird]

Our petsmarts here have always been clean, and the birds get fresh fruits and veggies, and toys. It's the petcos that I don't like. They don't know how to properly clip the wings of the budgies. They don't give you a choice! They are totally flightless when you get them from there! And no toys. Too many budgies in one place and lots of poop. I don't like petco.

[atvchick95]

When I got my birds at petsmart, I had to fill out a form with my contact information. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think this form had duplicate pages on it so that the store got a copy and the buyer got a copy. I might be remembering incorrectly as it has been a little less than a year since I filled one out.

that's wierd i've never filled out a form any our pet smart

we don't have a petco so i can't compare the 2 but I do have privatly owned pet shops and I don't even get a reciept from them

[Babyluv12]

I always have to fill out name, address, phone # etc info when I buy a bird. I always get them from Petsupermarket.