I noticed that whenever we have a round of cold or flu in the house my birds start sneezing, I asked the vet about that long time ago and she said no, But it can't be a coincidence. does anyone have similar issue and what do you do in this case?

I try to air the place as much as possible, but I can't prevent being close to the birds, they are used to being in contact with us a lot and being isolated annoys them.

birds can not catch colds from us. Maybe you just noticed it more because you are sneezing? We can catch disease from them though.

While it is HIGHLY unlikely for birds to catch diseases from humans, it has happened. A quick Google search found a Macaw infected with tuberculosis from close contact with infected humans, and references to the possibility of Newcastle Disease being carried by humans to birds.

 

Also last year while researching H5N1 articles (Avian Influenza) concern was raised about the potential for infected humans to pass the virus on to birds already infected with a non-lethal strain thus potentially creating a human-to-human transmissible strain yadda yadda. It never happened, in fact in lab tests all of the deliberately infected eggs failed to develop anything. But the fear-factor makes for good media ...

 

It is however quite possible to "carry" infections in contaminated clothing, hair, shoes, cages etc. So if you're ever in contact with a potential bird disease, especially if it's air or dust borne, be careful to de-contaminate yourself before going back to your own birds.

 

Back to your own story, it may well be that the conditions causing your cold may be conducive to cold-causing viruses for your bird too. My doctor enlightened me as it applies a lot to humans - around 20 degrees C is ideal temperature for viruses (and bacteria I guess) to multiply. This is why colds are most common in milder weather rather than in the extremes of heat or cold. In the middle of winter and summer it is either too cold or too hot for viruses to multiply in sufficient numbers. In our airconditioned homes and offices it is a nice comfortable 20ish degrees all year ...

I have personally found that kissing birds with a "cold" (bacterial infection of some sort) can pass on the bacteria. So personally I think that there is a risk. Have not got hard evidence, but anecdotally I have found the risk of infection seems higher if you kiss the birds with an infection of some sort yourself. Hence, my tip would be to avoid kissing them and keep your hands washed if you suspect you are ill with something.