The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a warning to hunters, stating that deer with tuberculosis could transmit the bacteria to humans.
The warning originates from a notification the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services received about a 77-year-old man who was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis but wasn't exposed to people or countries that had endemic tuberculosis.
There were, however, deer around the area he lived in Michigan that have TB.
The study suggests that the man was exposed to TB-related bacteria during his hunting activities and as a result had his pulmonary disease infection reactivated.
The CDC report said that the man was a regular deer hunter and had been field-dressing deer in Michigan for 20 years. After lab tests, it was found that the man had been exposed to bacterium found in deer and other animals that can cause tuberculosis to humans.
"The advice is sound in general" Grove says. "If it looks like there is an abscess in a piece of meat then you want to avoid it. You always want to be cautious handling meat until you cook it and take basic precautions like wearing gloves. Sometimes everything looks good but you might get into dressing the animal and see something."
Grove said that the bacterium associated with TB is typically associated with cattle and then spreads to other populations. "When cattle from other states are transported across state lines, a TB test is administered," Grove said.
According to Fox 17, only Michigan and Minnesota have been reported to have TB in the wildlife.