Nairobi man who gained online fame for his close bond with wild birds has brushed off warnings that his habits pose a health risk.
The conversation started after Dr Dennis Miskellah, deputy secretary-general of the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union, appealed on social media for government action.
Dr Miskellah posted that videos showed the man eating from the same plate as the feathered scavengers and urged the Ministry of Health to intervene, warning of potential zoonotic disease transmission.
He wrote: "Dear @MOH_Kenya, there is this character in FB who lives with wild birds, including scavengers, and eats with them from the same plate. While this looks funny, it won't be funny when he contracts and spreads zoonotic diseases. Kindly send public health officers to advise him accordingly, coz we are not ready to pay for his folly with our lives!!"
The videos that have since gone viral shows the so-called Nairobi Birdman interacting closely with crows and marabou storks, even sharing meals, ignoring the warnings.
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He even captioned a photo of himself among the birds with ‘nature wastes nothing’, he further uploaded another video of him at dumping sites where they eat discarded food, rubbishing public’s concern, saying that people worry unnecessarily.
"People say I'll get sick eating with birds. Yet I eat among them, even at dumping sites where they feed on thrown-away food, and we're still doing fine. Nature wastes nothing."
A resident commonly seen in Nairobi’s city centre and around the Dandora dumpsite, he has seemingly become a local celebrity, often surrounded by dozens of birds that seem to obey his voice.
His posts, often shows snacks being shared with playful “conversations” with birds, a phenomenon which leaves the public in disbelief and curiosity.
Some admire him, others share Dr Miskellah’s concerns about the hygiene risks of eating with wild scavengers, while others wants the Government to invest in his ‘ability’
@Deo Tiba Santos, suggested, “Instead the govt should help him set up a bird sanctuary which he can run and it a tourist place” and @Vincent Marto, said, “Before having all that conclusion they should ask how the guy is connecting with those birds, the guy is natural and vibrating differently from us”.
Marabou storks and crows regularly visit dumpsites and can contact various pathogens, which lies at the heart of the debate.
Zoonotic diseases, especially those that jump from animals to humans, account for about 60% of emerging infectious diseases worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.