The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said that humans can now get sick from animals in an unusual way. Well, this time, it is not from kissing or snuggling your pets.
In 2017, a 77-year-old Michigan man came down with tuberculosis after almost 20 years of hunting. It was later found that he was infected through a deer, according to the CDC.
The anonymous man had hunted deer in the region where two other hunters were also found to be infected over 15 years earlier.
The CDC said, “In his case, he likely inhaled infectious pathogens of bovine tuberculosis, a mycobacterium that can sicken humans, while removing a dead deer’s infected organs.”
Health officials said this is the second case that has been caused by animals this month. The first one was the “affection” where the officials urged backyard poultry owners to stop kissing and snuggling chicken and ducks due to the ongoing salmonella epidemic.
Bovine tuberculosis is one of the rare medical conditions in the United States, which accounts for note more than 2 percent of total tuberculosis.
The CDC explained that bovine tuberculosis has been eradicated from commercial cattle; however, it can still be there in elk, deer, and wild bison.
People may get infected by drinking or eating unpasteurized dairy products. However, the disease is known to “transmit through direct contact with an open wound,” especially while “hunting or slaughtering an infected animal.”
The signs and symptoms of bovine tuberculosis include fever, severe cough, weight loss, and chest pain.
According to the CDC, the treatment of this disease is similar to the treatment of typical tuberculosis, except bovine tuberculosis is resistant to an antibiotic called pyrazinamide. The risk of catching bovine tuberculosis is relatively low. However, the CDC said that anyone who handles carrier animals or consumes raw dairy products should be regularly screened for the disease. The agency advises people to make sure they consume dairy products that are properly pasteurized.
