Tell me about brucellosis

menhadenman

Senior Member
An old timer warmed me about brucellosis today after I was telling him about hog hunting with one of my boys in a few weeks. I’ve only been on maybe 5 hog kills including my own, but it’s been over 15 years. After reading up a bit it sounds like good meat handling is all that’s needed. Any advice would be appreciated.
 

Hillbilly stalker

Senior Member
Always wear gloves. Around the reproductive parts is the most dangerous place. I always bleach my knife after use. There are several other bacterial infections other than brucellosis you can catch from wild hogs. You don't want any of them.
 

C.Killmaster

Georgia Deer Biologist
Wear gloves, fully cook meat, don't touch your face after handling them or the meat. Not every hog will have brucellosis, but treat each one as if it does. If you cut yourself or think you might have been exposed, go on and go to the doctor and start a course of antibiotics. Don't wait to see if you get symptoms, it's much easier to prevent it with a short course of antibiotics rather than treat it once you're symptomatic (2 weeks of antibiotics versus months of them).
 

bubbafowler

Senior Member
Good meat handling with every animal. I caught Tularemia once after a successful small game hunt. Had me hospitalized for a week. Nasty stuff.
 

Blackston

Senior Member
I worked guiding hog hunts in the marsh at mouth of Altamaha ... we would always gut em before the LONG drag back to the boat ( side note the buzzard would circle as we gutted em kinda cool ) But gettin to the story I nicked my finger one time and shrugged it off ... I got so sick like in bed for weeks lost 20 lbs , and no one else in house got it , don’t know what it was but it was MEAN
 

Jester896

Senior Clown
Wear gloves, fully cook meat, don't touch your face after handling them or the meat. Not every hog will have brucellosis, but treat each one as if it does. If you cut yourself or think you might have been exposed, go on and go to the doctor and start a course of antibiotics. Don't wait to see if you get symptoms, it's much easier to prevent it with a short course of antibiotics rather than treat it once you're symptomatic (2 weeks of antibiotics versus months of them).

you forgot to tell them that there is a strong chance that well over 50% of the wild herd may have it :D I always wonder about very large (150#) guilts. And that the 2 week antibiotic is probably in IV form :D
 

Gator89

Senior Member
Undulant Fever is what brucellosis in humans is commonly called.

In addition to getting contaminated blood into an open wound/sore, eating under-cooked meat, drinking unpasteurized milk from an infected dairy cow or goat I suppose, can also cause undulant fever in humans.

Definition of Undulant fever (medicinenet.com)

I had a buddy caught it in the late 70s from dragging a hog out of a sawgrass marsh, getting scratched up, then cleaning the hog bare with arms/hands.

The arm length gloves a vet uses to pregnancy check cows, deliver a calf, etc. are a great item to keep in your possibles bag.
 
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Bkeepr

Senior Member
Brucellosis is a veneral disease of animals. There are separate species of this bacteria for goats/sheep, cattle/bison and hogs. It causes abortions in infected animals. Pig farmers are rightfully worried about it and in some areas of the country have to keep their pigs behind double fences to protect them from infected wild hogs. People get it from handling the contaminated blood and meat of these animals, but you are most at risk from directly handling the reproductive organs. It causes flu-like symptoms and if you don't help your doctor figure it out he may just assume you have a virus and not give you any antibiotics at all. Tell your doctor if you have been hunting or processing game! If left untreated in humans it is bad to hide in the bone marrow. At first exposure you are normally given Doxycycline but if it goes on you get daily IV antibiotics which means visiting the Infusion Clinic at the hospital every day for months.
 

C.Killmaster

Georgia Deer Biologist
you forgot to tell them that there is a strong chance that well over 50% of the wild herd may have it :D I always wonder about very large (150#) guilts. And that the 2 week antibiotic is probably in IV form :D

Nah, just 2 weeks of doxycycline pills. Been there, done that. I cut myself gutting one a few years ago. I had probably dressed dozens of deer without a single cut, then the first pig I decide to mess with I get a nice gash. Go figure.

Also, I don't think I've ever seen estimates over 50% of pigs being positive. Several areas will be 25% though.
 

Jester896

Senior Clown
yes, 28% of the wild heard had pseudorabies and 73% had Brucellosis of the 507. I agree that was back in '99, however I can't imagine it is better. At 1 time those were handed out to dog hunters at events by DNR about 10 years ago.
 

C.Killmaster

Georgia Deer Biologist
yes, 28% of the wild heard had pseudorabies and 73% had Brucellosis of the 507. I agree that was back in '99, however I can't imagine it is better. At 1 time those were handed out to dog hunters at events by DNR about 10 years ago.

I think you read it wrong, it was 73 hogs out of 1,800 tested (4%) that had brucellosis.
 

davel

Senior Member
I caped a hog my wife shot last summer. Slung blood in my face/eyes, cut my finger, etc. I was worried about brucellosis so I called my doc. He said very few cases reported in my area but if I started getting flu like symptoms a simple blood test would tell if I got it. He said you get antibiotics and it's over. Only very rare cases of complications...not the norm.
 

davel

Senior Member
Also, there are signs you can look for that a hog is infected. Not going to get graphic but discharge is one of them. Look it up on Google and it will explain.
 
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