Birds At Georgia PetSmart Stores Face Quarantine
The Georgia Department of Agriculture has quarantined PetSmart stores in the state and a Superpetz store in Martinez after an outbreak of psittacosis, a bird disease that can be transferred to humans. The bacterial disease mainly affects parrots, parakeets and similar birds.
The quarantine is stopping sales of birds and will last up to 45 days.
“We have had two confirmed cases of psittacosis at PetSmart stores in Hiram and Woodstock,” said Tommy Irvin, the state’s commissioner of agriculture. “There have also been confirmed cases at the dealer, Preferred Birds of Milton, Fla., that supplies birds to all the stores we are quarantining.”
PetSmart thinks the birds were exposed to the bacteria before arriving in stores.
It also seems that PetSmart has known about this for about a month because one pet store manager said that the store pulled out the cockatiels over a month ago.
Also, the Washington State Department of Health also stated that 20 PetSmart stores in the state of Washington receive shipments from Preferred Birds and has warned that those birds may possibly be affected with psittacosis.
Source: Aiken Standard, Atlanta Journal Constitution, The Chronicle
(Thanks menusux)
December 31st, 2007 at 3:37 pm
Gosh, darn, PetSmart can’t seem to stay out of the derogatory news!
December 31st, 2007 at 4:31 pm
PETSMART IN BRIDGEWATER nj HAD A SIGN UP YESTERDAY THAT THE BIRDS WERE CURRENTLY NOT FOR SALE AS WELL
December 31st, 2007 at 6:45 pm
PetSmart has no regard for the animals and damned little for the pet parents footing the bills, I hope they go down the drain along with MenuFoods.
December 31st, 2007 at 7:56 pm
You can check them out at:
http://stocks.us.reuters.com/s.....ymbol=petm
Their graph has a similar shape to that of Menu Foods.
December 31st, 2007 at 11:23 pm
Must mean that the customer is always right.
January 1st, 2008 at 8:03 am
This is from ProMed Mail, an international clearing house for information on diseases around the world.
http://www.promedmail.org/pls/promed/f?p=2400:1000
The Georgia Department of Agriculture is quarantining PetSmart stores
in the state and a Superpetz store in Martinez due to psittacosis
[also called parrot fever and ornithosis], a bird disease that can be
transferred to humans, Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin
announced today [28 Dec 2007].
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.
Another comment on the site says that the infection was from the supplier and that the situation has been cleared up
We believe this event is related to a change in bird husbandry at the
vendor, which has since been corrected. All pet stores and public
health officials in other states that may have received birds during
this time have been alerted and are taking appropriate action. The
vendor is currently under voluntary quarantine and is working with
their veterinarian, Florida Department of Health, and the Florida
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to assure that this
problem is resolved.
January 1st, 2008 at 8:15 am
That must be why all the birds in the Orlando Petsmarts have a sign saying they are undergoing prevenative treatment and won’t be for sale until the end of Jan.
I was wondering what was going on.
January 1st, 2008 at 11:08 am
Also in Minnesota. Some employees here have fallen ill from this disease.
January 2nd, 2008 at 7:53 am
I think they should have closed the doors to the stores involved. If both store employees and customers can and have become ill it is a health and safety issue that transcends putting up a not for sale sign on the birds. Our government makes me sick with the way they respond to this kind of thing.
January 2nd, 2008 at 7:32 pm
The Livonia Michigan petsmart is also not selling their birds. The sales lady said Oh! They were just being checked on for the day. YA Right.
January 3rd, 2008 at 3:31 am
i was wondering where the birds were, well, now i know! YUCK!!