You can love your lovebird, but keep it well away from your mouth and certainly don't kiss it.
That's the advice from central Queensland veterinarian Greg Muir, who said that one particular disease could pass from infected birds to humans.
Psittacosis or "parrot fever" is caused by a dangerous bacteria called Chalmydia psittaci, which is found in both wild and captive birds.
"The main way it transfers is from infected birds, and you can get it from breathing in or ingesting infected material," Dr Muir said.
"That's why you've got to be careful handling birds.
"Certainly kissing them is not a good idea, and you've got to be a little bit careful having them around your mouth."
Earlier this year three people in the Blue Mountains, in New South Wales, tested positive for "parrot fever", resulting in the local health board issuing an alert.
Wash your hands
The signs of "parrot fever" in humans range from mild flu-like symptoms to severe pneumonia that can require hospitalisation.
The symptoms can appear between five and 28 days from exposure, according to the Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District.
Parrot fever is treated with antibiotics.
"If you get flu-like symptoms and you have been handling birds a lot, your doctor may test for that," Dr Muir said.
"The rate is a little less than 5 per cent in captive birds and it happens in wild birds as well.
"It's out there, and it's in the bird population generally."
While all bird species could be affected by psittacosis, it occurred more frequently among parrots, Dr Muir said.
Signs of the disease in birds ranged from respiratory symptoms, including sneezing, coughing and respiratory discharge, to weight loss, general poor health, and diarrhoea.
"So you just have to be bit a little bit careful, and this comes down to practising general hygiene, avoiding really close contact with birds and looking out for signs of the disease in birds," Dr Muir said.
