Hunters can catch tuberculosis from their deer kills, CDC warns

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning hunters to be aware that deer could be carrying tuberculosis after a Michigan man contracted the disease dealing with a carcass.

In the detailed report, the 77-year-old man “had no history of travel to countries with endemic tuberculosis, no known exposure to persons with tuberculosis, and no history of consumption of unpasteurized milk.”

The report also said the male lived in an area in the “northeastern Lower Peninsula of Michigan, which has a low incidence of human tuberculosis, but does have an enzootic focus of M. bovis in free-ranging deer.”

“After testing, the man was found to have been exposed to M. bovis bacteria. The report suggests that the man may have inhaled the bacteria while field-dressing diseased deer carcasses,” Fox 26 reported.

To prevent infection, the CDC asks hunters to “use personal protective equipment while field-dressing deer.”