Last year I posted that I had brucellosis in a thread about brucellosis in Georgia deer(https://forum.gon.com/threads/brucellosis-in-georgia-deer.784367/ ). I took antibiotics doxycycline and rifampin for 42 days and got to feeling better but never got my strength back. I mostly lost my desire to hunt(that happens to some people I heard) but mainly didn't feel like going. After the first of this year I started feeling worse. This was about the same time as Covid 19 broke out so I wondered if I had it but tests were not readily available then. Meanwhile I got worse with brucellosis symptoms. I have learned a lot about brucellosis since last year and one thing I learned was that most doctors don't know much about it. I dropped the doctor that treated me last year for other reasons but found out since that he did not properly treat treat me for brucellosis. I went to a doctor that teaches at a medical school and he looked at me and said "you don't have brucellosis". He knew I had it last year. I then went to an infectious disease specialist. He also knew I had it last year. He thought I'd had a relapse and gave me antibiotics and also ordered blood tests. The test came back positive so I am on doxycyline and rifampin for 8 weeks. Only 5 1/2 weeks to go. It makes me very nauseated this time. I have more to add but I will break it up into other posts for easier reading.
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Brucellosis round 2
- Thread starter dick7.62
- Start date
Gator89
Senior Member
Last year I thought I had caught it from deer but now I'm not so sure. I learned about chronic brucellosis which you can have for years. So I could have caught it from hogs years ago and it smoldered for years until it broke out last year. I did have a negative test since I last killed a hog(I did not see the test results) so maybe it was a false negative. I hate to blame it on deer because it is rare in them and common in hogs. I might add that I had had the same symptoms for many years, though not as bad.
Buford_Dawg
Senior Member
Hope you get better soon and get the urge to hit the woods and chase game again. I wear gloves and quickly clean up with chlorox wipes after handling hogs.
jbogg
Senior Member
I am sorry to hear about your illness. I sliced my Palm a couple of years ago while skinning a wild hog. I was wearing rubber gloves but was working to fast and got careless. Went to my doc and told her what happened. She put me on a three week course of doxycycline and one other med as a prophylactic measure. I was fortunate in that I did not contract it. I hope you are able to turn the corner soon. Brucellosis is something that every hog hunter should be aware of.
bfriendly
Bigfoot friendly
Dang if I didn’t do the same thing jbogg!
Sorry to hear of your suffering Dick7.62 and I pray the pain goes away soon and the strength comes back. God bless you brother and I got you in my prayers.
C.Killmaster
Georgia Deer Biologist
I'm not a doctor, but I would expect a negative test if it were dormant. Anti-body tests will show current infection and past exposure. If it's dormant, I wouldn't expect to see the antibodies for an active infection since the bacteria are hiding out during dormancy. One of the other ways to contract it is from unpasteurized milk or cheese, could that have been a possibility?
Here's an informative article if you haven't already seen it:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3294561/
C.Killmaster
Georgia Deer Biologist
I hope this new doctor gets you fixed up. Also, I appreciate you sharing your story on the forum. I know you can't really pinpoint how you got it, but I'm sure your story could help influence others to take brucellosis seriously and glove up when cleaning hogs.
C.Killmaster
Georgia Deer Biologist
I've done the same thing as well. It is so much easier to treat if you knock it out before it starts. If anyone gets cut cleaning a hog, please go to the doctor and request prophylactic antibiotics, don't wait to see if you get symptoms or not.
Doghunter11
Senior Member
This may be a dumb question but how long is bruccellosis from a hog able to infect you? Would it be possible to get infected 3 months down the road while handling raw meat when cooking?
Hillbilly stalker
Senior Member
FYI Dogs can also carry Brucellosis.
According to what I read freezing does not kill the bacteria. I suppose it could live indefinitely in the freezer. Cooking kills it. I would wear gloves while handling it.
I had my dog tested last year when mine was discovered. He was negative. He had licked blood from everything I had killed since I got him including 1 hog. The vet said it would be hard for a dog to catch it through blood.
Hillbilly stalker
Senior Member
If you ever breed to a stud dog, they will require a test given first and within 24 hrs.
Yes I have read that in several places.
uturn
Senior Member
Hope you turn the corner as well thanks for sharing!
And, you others as well...I will continue read up and practice safe cleaning and handling of any hogs I kill!
And, you others as well...I will continue read up and practice safe cleaning and handling of any hogs I kill!
C.Killmaster
Georgia Deer Biologist
It's possible, but the vast majority of people that get it either cut themselves while gutting a hog, get blood in an existing cut, or wipe eyes or nose while gutting one. The heaviest bacteria loads are in the reproductive tract. It's probably not a bad idea to wear gloves handling the meat, but for sure cook it to 165 degrees. That's not just for brucellosis, trichinella is very common in hogs too.
Dang dick. I hope you kick it for good this time. Sounds like you have had a nasty bout with it. Your experience is a good reason to wear gloves when dressing wild game of just about any kind.
