Bird droppings
April 23, 2013 | 15,00 EUR | answered by Dr. med. Frauke Gehring
Hello,
I just cleaned my windows and the windowsill outside was heavily covered with bird droppings. I removed everything without gloves and touched my mouth several times in the process. Later, it occurred to me that it could be dangerous, certain pathogens, avian flu? I don't know which bird species it was.
Dear Sir or Madam,
currently, there is no bird flu in Germany; by the way, it is transmitted through the respiratory tract.
Even if tiny traces of bird droppings have come into your mouth, it is not to be expected that any germs in it will make you sick. The stomach has such a low pH value for a reason; with its acid, it can handle almost anything.
The mouth itself harbors a lot of bacteria, which are kept in check by the immune system. A few more or less doesn't matter.
So you can rest assured.
Yours sincerely, Dr. F. Höllering, Specialist in Internal and General Medicine
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