Do pigeons harm humans? Fact check

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Both, domestic and feral pigeons may be carriers of hazardous agents for man and animals. Ectoparasites of pigeons can trouble humans. Feces of pigeons can serve as substrate for the agent of cryptococcosis of man and animals.

There were 176 documented transmissions of illness from feral pigeons to humans reported between 1941 and 2003. Feral pigeons harbored 60 different human pathogenic organisms, but only seven were transmitted to humans.

Going more deeper, pigeons are the potential carrier for zoonotic pathogens, including Campylobacter species and Salmonella species that are mainly associated with severe acute gastroenteritis, Coxiella burnetii, the causal agent of Q fever and Chlamydia psittaci is responsible for respiratory tract infection in humans (Gabriele-Rivet et al., 2016; Weygaerde et al., 2018).

You can become infected with these diseases by breathing in the dust that is created when cleaning droppings. The risk of pigeon-related diseases is rare.

Histoplasmosis (Histoplasma capsulatum) is a fungal disease that is spread to people by breathing in dust contaminated with the fungus from pigeon or bat droppings. Fungal spores are found in the environment, especially in areas with bird and bat droppings. Birds do not get sick from exposure to histoplasmosis. Infections in humans is rare.

These birds, often dismissed as ... of being dirty and disease-ridden, pigeons are actually very clean animals and pose little threat in terms of spreading disease to humans....

Feral pigeons (Columbia livia) are not harmless birds. Many potential infections of · humans silently exist in pigeons which are not apparent.

Whilst yes, it is technically possible for a pigeon to transmit a disease to a human, just as it is for any animal to do so, it's highly unlikely, and almost never occurs.