Zoonoses, public health, and the backyard poultry flock.

Raising a small flock of poultry for eggs, meat, and possibly companionship is becoming an increasingly popular hobby in the United States. Domestic chickens (Gallus gallus, forma domestica), turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo, forma domestica), and members of the family Anatidae including ducks, geese, and swans are commonly kept in these privately owned backyard flocks. Multiple bacterial, viral, fungal, and parasitic diseases which affect poultry are known zoonotic pathogens. This article reviews these zoonoses and gives recommendations for flock biosecurity, as well as for prevention of infection in both birds and humans. Diseases associated with other gallinaceous birds are only selectively discussed.