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Wednesday, October 9, 2019

CDC Report: Tuberculosis in Deer Can Be Transmitted to Hunters During Field Dressing

A CDC report reviews a case of pulmonary tuberculosis in an elderly man that was linked to wild deer.  It serves as a reminder to deer hunters to take this into consideration as they field dress their deer.

Penn State Extension has a guide for safely field dressing your deer.

Penn Live
https://www.pennlive.com/life/2019/09/deer-can-transmit-tuberculosis-to-hunters-warns-cdc.html
Deer can transmit tuberculosis to hunters, warns CDC
Posted Sep 26, 2019
By Marcus Schneck | mschneck@pennlive.com 

A 77-year-old Michigan hunter apparently contracted tuberculosis from an infected wild deer that he killed and field-dressed, providing further evidence that deer with TB can transmit the disease to humans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The CDC report is based on a case from May 2017 but was published by the CDC in just the past few days.

According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the disease “has not been diagnosed in Pennsylvania's wild deer herd. “
Nevertheless, the CDC recommends that hunters “ use personal protective equipment while field-dressing deer.”

Penn State’s Field Dressing Deer Pocket Guide explains, “To reduce your risk of exposure to disease, wear disposable plastic gloves while handling animals. Wash hands and arms thoroughly with soap and water before and after dressing. Using clean water, pre-moistened wipes or alcohol wipes, clean your knife frequently between cuts to prevent bacterial contamination.”

The American Veterinary Medical Association further recommends, “when field-dressing an elk or deer, hunters should look for tan or yellow pea-sized lumps in the wall of the rib cage or in the lungs. If these lumps are present, the hunter should immediately stop handling the carcass, attach a game tag, and contact the local fish and wildlife agency.”

According to the CDC report, the infected Michigan hunter had not traveled to countries with endemic tuberculosis, had no known exposure to anyone with the disease and had no history of drinking unpasteurized milk, all common sources for contracting the disease.

But he had killed and field dressed deer in a 4-county area of Michigan, where Mycobacterium bovis – a source of tuberculosis infection in humans – was known to exist in free-ranging deer. Previous cases of hunting-related human infections had been reported in the same area, 1 each in 2002 and 2004.

Whole-genome sequencing of a sample from the hunter indicated that he had been exposed to a circulating strain of Mycobacterium bovis at some point through his hunting activities.

While evidence suggested that the 2004 patient was infected through a finger injury suffered during field dressing, the CDC report suggested that the 2002 and 2017 cases might have occurred following inhalation of aerosols during removal of diseased organs while field dressing deer carcasses.

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