CDC warns feral hog hunters of bacterial illness

http://www.kxii.com/home/headlines/CDC-warns-feral-hog-hunters-of-bacterial-illness-181482691.html

While the warning is valid, it isn't anything new or involved in any sort of particular current epidemic. It also isn't a disease limited to cattle, pigs, and hogs, LOL.

It is found in sheep, goats, bison, elk, deer, bighorn sheep, muskox, caribou, reindeer, canids (domestic dog, coyotes, foxes), rabbits, opossums, raccoons, etc.

Proper raw flesh-handling procedures always should be followed when processing livestock or game. Livestock in general are particular brucellosis carriers to which folks may most often be exposed, but it isn't limited to that range of animals at all.

They DO carry it and YOU can get it from them!! I got it about 20 years ago thru a cut in my hand while cleaning a hog from a hunting property in Pumpkinvine, Texas. It didnt kill me but I thought I was gonna die. It took Drs. a long time and 5 days in Medical Center Hosp. to diagnose and begin treating the bacteria. The Tetracycline 500 mil 4 times a day almost killed me too! Sick, sick, sick! The more hogs in an area the more likely the desease. It was and is rare. So rare that the CDC contacted me to try and locate the property where I got infected! Another one to be aware of is leptospirosis (rabbit fever). Same way to get infected. Real bad sickness also.

that's why we don't touch ANYTHING without latex gloves on. My wife got some sort of an bacterial infection a few years back from an axis deer that came in in June. She had cuts all over her arms from clearing briars and didn't think anythingabout it. Took a year and a half of antibiotic treatment to get rid off it. Thank god at that time we had health insurance. Zoonosis is a big issue in our profession.

Thanks for the info

Interesting read.

Kind of like doing the nastys with a "bar" chick, glove up and you should be ok. Unless your glove breaks then you're going to the clinic for antibiotics and the day after pill.

Good info

We keep gloves at the cleaning station, its not a bad idea.

wow.... ill never look at a hog the same... sounds like bad stuff

WOW! Thanks for the info. Always better to be SAFE than SORRY

Again, thanks for posting this. Does anyone know what percentage of hogs might carry this?

My worries with things like this is if you get it, figuring out exactly what is wrong. The kids are always coming down with something - and I would be worried that I wouldn't realize that this was actually the cause. Before reading this, I would never have linked the two.

Thanks again for posting this RWH24!

Brucellosis is only in about 10% of feral hogs.
http://www.chron.com/sports/article/Tompkins-Feral-hogs-pose-rare-but-significant-1732151.php

Thanks for the info.

You don't want that!

So this can only be transmitted during carrying, cleaning, etc. This can't be contracted by eating an infected hog? Is this correct?

No, not correct. Insufficient cooked and consumed hog can still transmit all sorts of nasties.

Cook your wild hogs to 170 to avoid 99% of any of these problems.

Same goes with chicken. 13% of chicken sold in stores has it. If you eat chicken, 100% chance you've eaten a chicken with salmonella, if you got sick, then you know it, but if you didn't, it just means you cooked your chicken enough to kill off the bacteria.

When we were young, we never used hand protection when dressing anything. Now, I never touch any dead game animals or even coons and possoms and the like without latex gloves.

Better safe than sorry.

I use latex gloves (mechanics kind is stronger) with cheap gloves over the top (like golf or something thin with grip). This helps to keep the latex from tearing.

This isn't anything new and I believe it has been discussed a few times on this forum. Just the same, it never hurts to remind folks.

I always use high quality latex gloves when cleaning game.

Gloves while cleaning, and just as important, and proper cooking.....

Always use gloves. Another reason why I just leave them lay where they die.

clean properly and cook properly

You can catch all kinds of stuff out there. Thats why I always wear gloves and wash my arms down with alcohol when done. Some guys rub down with Clorox when finish, I don't go that far, but its better to be safe than sorry.

The way the last few hogs smelled that I shot and dressed made me want a haz-mat suit. Sounds like that may not be a bad idea. I guess my cut and chemical resistant gloves will work fine for now.

I always wear latex or nitrile gloves when cleaning deer or hogs. I don't think hogs have any more diseases than any other wild animal. Always a good idea for gloves and to wash hands arms well afterward. And don't forget to put that dip or chew in BEFORE you start skinning or quartering.

That's what I swear by! I even have a pair of thick rubber gloves wtih me to load the hog without touching the hooves. I'm a knife maker, I always have cuts and scrapes on my hands and fingers. No need in taking a chance.

hey bjank, what does touching the hooves cause? I know that there are more bad bugs in the bloodwork on animals today than anybody could identify but this is a new one for me. I haven't tried to avoid the hooves but maybe I should? Last few I have dressed smelled terrible but they cooked up great. Some of the best we've had.

PERFECT ANALOGY!!!!

lol

x2 about latex gloves and wash well with soap and water if any blood gets on skin

gloving up is always a good idea when messing with nasty fun things

Is there a particular time of year that this is more of a concern. Like rabbit fever or something?

Will have to start packing some latex gloves in my bag. They are cheap and easy to pack so no reason not too!

Thanks for the read, safety first, plus if you ice the meat for several days you lose the gamy, hormone flavor on the boars (learned that from a country gentleman)

cook properly? you can eat feral hogs?

I've used latex and nitrile gloves. Nitrile is much more durable than latex, and doesn't cost a whole lot more. I get mine at Harbor Freight, but Walgreens and many grocery stores and pharmacies carry them.

I also keep a pair of lightweight leather gloves in my day pack to use when I'm dragging a hog. Besides the health factor they just make for less wear and tear on my hands. But then, I worked in a shipyard one summer while in college where gloves were mandatory. I joke with my friends nowadays that I won't even go outside and pick up a quarter off the sidewalk without putting on a pair of gloves

second the nitril the vinyl are even stronger but have no stretch making them hard to get on

Wow great info, thanks for sharing.

Definitely will pass this on to others!

How did I ever get along without nitrile gloves?

its the same with most animals, cook well

This raises some good points. The latex- IMHO I think they are sort of a marginal choice because if you have bone splinters, etc you can have shap bone easily puncture those latex gloves. I use the arm length gauntlets and then a heavy pair of rubberized gloves. This may sound sort of "wimpish" but I also have an old, worn out white shirt that I put on backwards. Ticks show up real well on the white shirt and I can pick them off while I'm gutting a deer or skinning a yote.
You can get mange from animals, rabbit fever, all sorts of stuff. Probably why hunters years ago did a lot of stews- cook the dickens out of that critter.

I was out of hunting for about 20 years.

I got back into because of my son and his friends.

I find out everybody is wearing gloves and watching out for poachers.

What is the world coming to ...

The first article mentions soaking the meat for several days in ice water.,, What is the purpose for this?

good info from everyone, thanks!

Had an ag teacher who contracted it many years ago. Bad stuff.

this might be the funniest example on THF

I always freak out about this. I mean it preys on my mind.

You keep the meat on ice, draining the water off twice a day and adding more ice. Do this until water comes out clear, not bloody. Cut up, cook, and enjoy!

Let the yotes eat em and you will have no problems.

Couldn't agree more. Shoot them leave them for natures undertakers. That is unless they are young ones then take every precaution. I have AI equipment and have the gloves that go to the arm pit. They work pretty good don't ya know.

wash my hands in rubbing alcohol after cleaning pigs, fish, deer, ducks etc... it sits right next to the soap on my sink lol

one of the things they is is ringworm i had a bad case of it and also rose disease.

Good info, I always make fun of guys that wear latex gloves instead of getting their hands bloody, I guess I should start wearing them myself.

Brucellosis is not in texas anymore.

Could you post a link to where you found this information?
Thanks

We use to vaccinate for it years back because it was here. Through vet and ag studies it is redundant to vaccinate anymore because of the non existence of it anymore. I raise pigs I might know of any diseases out there. Now there is a diseases going around right now transmitted from the midwest but it only effects younger piglets and is not contractible by humans.

If it is a bacteria virus that might be possible as there are many bacteria diseases in all animals. Nothing to quit hunting over. As always sanitation is always key no matter what. And if it takes a bacteria scare to use sanitation practices thats ignorance to the max. But to assume it is brucellosis is an uneducated and ignorant thing to say.

I never touch a hog without gloves, and only touch it to hook up a rope and drag it in the brush...

Use gloves, clean the meat and cook to proper temp and you'll be fine. No reason to miss out on some delish food!!

Much easier to go to the grocery store

Dirty, dirty animals. Worthy of a bullet or two for sure.

Thanks for the article, went straight to truck and put a box of latex gloves in hunting bag lol.

Thanks for the info. Making latex gloves a necessity from here on out.

I caught Brucellosis in Afghanistan. Tore me up. You dont want it.

Lol!!!!!

One more thing regarding the latex gloves. If they are the type found in supermarkets- really thin and if there are splinters of bone you could still get cut. I use a heavy pair of rubberized gloves. I guess I'm a sissy cause I also pack an old white shirt which I put on backwards. Ticks show up great on the white fabric and it helps me get rid of a lot of them while gutting.
Years ago hunter stews were common- in any event cook that thing real good.

Mike, it's a big problem in the veterinary profession too. Probably half of the old-timer veterinarians contracted brucellosis from palpating cattle or working with pigs. A common name for Brucellosis is "Undulant Fever". The infected vets were saddled with it for life. They'd get sick, take a course of tetracycline, and go about their business. Then a few months later, they'd relapse; then it's back in bed with antibiotics for a couple weeks.

It's a tough life living with brucellosis....almost like living with malaria.

Good info. Several years ago, got inta a knife fight with a hog thatt sent me ta Hospital. It dont sound very macho the way it really happened, more Hunting way back on OSBWMA learned real quick. Back packing easeiest way ta get hogs out. Usualy solo hunts. Cut hide along back, take backtrap, then remove hide around quarters, roll over do same. No gutting. This inciddence happened dow behind house whin hog came inta feeder. It was big hog, dragged ta were bow stand is with vechical. Its a small ditch. Knife slipped, stabbed above knee. Had a good medic with me who doctored it. Was gonna let stitch. Advice was go get shot & stitches. Yagh, bout as bright as burt out light bulb. The ellamint didnt connect, but knife did. So far ben Blessed. still & chill if get a hog. Good info on here. Stay Safe

Most cases are not diagnosed, low grade fever, couple nights of bed sweats, won't effect everyone the same. Can kill in right circumstances.

They make good yote bait.

Hey blood on the ground just read your post on contacting that disease. Congrats for surviving it. I contacted the west nile meningitis disease several years ago and thought I was going to die too. I don't care to handle any hogs after I kill them because I damn sure don't want that disease also. I still have side affects from the west nile. The doctors did a spinal tap on me and it didn't seal up. I got home and after a couple of days of blacking out when I stood up after getting out of bed I figured I was still sick. I could see if I held my chin to my chest but couldn't see when I lifted my head. I thought I had a fever and my theory on fevers that wont go away is to sweat it out. I jogged two miles and when I stopped to walk I couldnt see were I was going unless I held my chin down. The jogging moved my brain around enough to keep it from settling down in my cranium. I had low spinal fluid in my cranium and my brain was not floating properly. I did not know at the time what the hell was happening. I went to the doctor and they did a blood patch and I could see again. They pulled blood out of my arm and pushed it into my back where it was leaking. I could of died and I caused long term brain damage by jogging with no spinal fluid in my head. To this day my ears ring constantly and when there is a low pressure weather system I get tired and weak. Sometimes when I jog it sounds like two steel balls tapping together everytime my feet hit the ground. Im grumpy a lot and sometimes just plain mean. Ive got what the football players get x 10 CTE. If you think this sounds crazy, you ought to try explain it to someone in person. They will look at me like I am crazy, And I am a little thanks to the skeeters. Oh yah I forgot to tell you when I get tired I get a lost feeling. Try that in the woods in the dark. meningitis aint no joke it will try to kill you and I am a survivor. I feel your pain.

^ Wow, that is an incredible story. Eff to all of that but glad you pulled through ok.

scary dont want to clean no pigs

Are they safe to eat?

Theyre safe to shoot haha I don't eat them, theyre really gamey tasting. Plus the hazard isn't worth the risk to me. I went to a fishing hole one time and the Mexican dude that owned the land was cooking a pig in a dirt pit. I asked him if it was a wild pig, and he said it as a house pig, I always thought that was funny [house pig]. I should of known better because of the big ears and pinkish looking skin, but it was really burnt looking and covered in black suet. I asked him if he wanted me to kill him a wild pig and he said no they don't taste good. I even took one down to the Mexican neighbors down the road and they looked at me like I was down grading them and turned it down. I guess when I go to a Mexican buffet I don't have to worry about the mystery meat being wild hog.

Again, thanks for posting this. Does anyone know what percentage of hogs might carry this?

Err on the side of caution and consider 100%. As always with ANY meat of ANY kind, wash thoroughly after prep and cook thoroughly. Got cuts on your hands? Read "Blood on the Grounds" reply. It's valid.

Thanks all for this thread....good reminder

I see dead feral "marsh" hogs on the roadside all the time, but never see a buzzard, possum, or even flies on them. Now if it's a dead possum or rabbit, or even armadillo that gets run over, the buzzards will be there on it. It may be poor logic, but I don't care to eat anything that even a buzzard won't eat.

The feral hogs at our deer lease in east Texas? They seem to be a completely different story. They eat corn all year, and acorns in the fall. We've killed the medium-small ones, and had country ribs on the grill the next day and they were great. But still, I never skin or clean any animal without a good pair of gloves on.

hmm

Sounds like it is a terrible ordeal to get it. I try to use gloves whenever cleaning game, but sometimes I cant get to them and do without. Reminders like these makes me realize that although I dont think it will happen to me, it sure is possible.

Have hunting lease and always had some hog moving thru the property. Hogs are omnivorous eaters. Will eat anything. I've gut shot a number of them so that they would run off from my feeders to die. Personally, I'll pass on eating a feral porker. Hunted in Oklahoma and game processing fellow we used would not accept feral hogs for processing.

I suppose that it's still better than getting leprosy from an armadillo.

der Teufel, I buy Dynarex Black Nitrile on Amazon and they hold up real well. They are a bit thicker than most.
Whatever you do, DO NOT store the box in the heat. They all deteriorate with heat or sun.
Left my first box in my outdoor shop all year, using them as needed and they went bad after the first summer.

Eat your meat well done and you never have to worry. It is so simple. Just cook things.

Why even risk it? Makes no sense. Plenty of other food sources for humans. Just don't get it.

Thanks guys for all the info!

Good to Know!

We don't fool with those nasty things. Shoot em just like I do a coyote in the gut so they run off.Who in the world would eat them when pork is so cheap???

good lord! Thats scary stuff!

No rush to clean the pig, too much nasty on it. Or don’t and drop in a ditch with his buddies

Best not to put any animal carcasses in waterways or ditches emptying into water to avoid contaminating the water. A carcass out in an open field will disappear rapidly.

I noticed that, too. I can't imagine it does anything at all for bacteria except give it a change to spread. Freezing won't even kill bacteria, only heat will.

Like most folks I do 5-7 days in a cooler with ice. Add some salt, some like vinegar but I don't like the taste. It tenderizes and takes a lot of the blood out of the meat and brines it so it tastes better.

Killed a couple hogs today. The ranch lady just told me they she lost a calf they think to Leptospirosis recently. No eating hogs from there. She lost a horse to it also, well, it went blind and deaf and finally had to be shot.

Hey C12555 I retired from teaching Ag Science and we had to give many shots to all those show animals. Most of the hogs had been vaccinated and ticks were kept away with powders, spray and shots. I slipped once and laid a blackleg needle and syringe on top of a post while working cattle and it fell off the chute post and stuck me right in the top of my arm. Ag teaching can be dangerous. I also taught hunters safety and the kids got their hunters certifications. The principal at one school was a germ and disease guru and had all my feedlot management students get tetanus shots before they could work on any of the cattle.
I understand how your Ag Teacher could catch lymes, tetanus or any hog diseases.

I always wear gloves when I clean my animals. Latex gloves dont help when you cut yourself cleaning them though. Lol

Ditto!

Interesting read

I buy different MILs at Harbor Freight I store them in my garage and never had a problem. I think the 7 mils are fine for cleaning game. I use the 5s for filleting fish. Mainly just to keep hands clean. The 9 mils are great for things like oil changes and will last for several uses. Just buy them in a size larger than normal because they do not stretch as much. Right know I have 5s, 7s, and 9s in my garage. Some have been there 2 years. Look for coupons. Harbor Freight often has coupons for at least one of the MILs.

+ one above and I used to keep gloves in both hunting vehicles..

Safety first. You rather be safe than sorry.

Always with the cdc

Thanks for posting - it's a good read.