CDC: Deer with Tuberculosis can transmit bacteria to people

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning hunters that deer with tuberculosis can transmit the bacteria to humans, according to Local 12 News.

According to reports, stems from a case in Michigan in 2017 where a 77-year-old man had no exposure to people or countries with endemic tuberculosis was diagnosed with the disease.

CDC said the man was a regular hunter and had dressed deer in the state for 20 years. Following lab tests, the man was found to be exposed to mycobacterium bovis, a bacterium found in deer, cattle, bison, and elk.

Local 12 News said two other cases had also been linked to deer, leading doctors to believe the bacteria was inhaled during the removal of diseased portions of deer when field-dressing carcasses.

Michigan and Minnesota are the only states where TB in wildlife populations have been reported, according to reports.