Woods, waters and wildlife: Always do this when dressing wild game

Published 5:15 am Tuesday, July 22, 2025

Pictured are a sow and her pigs eating like Hogs at a deer feeder, with no regard for manners or sanitation. That’s what hogs do. They also carry a number of diseases, along with being the best tasting wild game in Texas. If a hunter becomes sick in any form, he should inform medical personnel immediately that he is a hunter so they can test for possible diseases. (John Jefferson photo).

Last week, TPWD announced that applications may now be submitted for the popular Public Drawn Hunts. It particularly mentioned five interesting new areas being included in this year’s drawings. Several included feral hogs as legally shootable. (See Texas Parks and Wildlife Department tpwd@service.govdelivery.com)

That reminded me of a man I had read about recently who suffered severely for months before his wife saw something on the Internet that led to a correct diagnosis. The article explained why something hadn’t been tested for among many other tests.

The article by my friend, Lindsay Thomas, Jr., published on the Internet, wrote about the unfortunate case. Thomas is the Communications Director for the National Deer Association. His work is highly esteemed.

The man had become deaf in one ear. An audiologist told him it was nerve damage, and he would never get his hearing back. His family doctor prescribed steroids. That didn’t help.

Next came severe back pain spasms and an ambulance ride to the emergency room. A CAT Scan, MRI, blood work and even a flu test revealed nothing.

He bravely continued his field work as an extension wildlife specialist in Tennessee, masking his pain and 105-degree fever. Night sweats followed. His wife researched his symptoms extensively and told him she thought it was brucellosis. No one had considered THAT.

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  • He was referred to an infectious disease specialist and waited two months for an appointment. That MD confirmed that he had toxoplasmosis and brucellosis. Those are diseases of cats, hogs, cattle, deer and other animals.

    Humans get it from them.

    One way of contracting brucellosis is coming in contact with body fluids from an infected animal. This patient had helped field dress a hog and blood splashed in his face. He wiped it off and continued cleaning the hog. That could have been how he became infected.

    “Hunters are exposed to many health threats in the outdoors,” Thomas wrote. “Brucellosis can be transferred in blood. A mosquito bite can deliver West Nile Virus, Ticks can Deliver many different diseases, including Lyme Disease, Red-Meat Allergy, and e.coli or salmonella.”

    When the patient referred to above saw the first doctors, they asked him about common symptoms but never considered his being exposed to wild animals. Had he mentioned he was a hunter, Lindsay Thomas and I agree that brucellosis might have been tested for and diagnosed much earlier.

    I’ve had a multitude of tick bites, but only two looked suspiciously like Lyme Disease. When The doc entered the examining room, I asked him what he knew about Lyme. He smiled and said, “Not much; do you think you have it?” He drew blood and put me on Tetracycline while we waited for the lab results. It was confirmed. I recovered quickly both times.

    Had I not mentioned the tick bites and Lyme Disease, it could have gone undiagnosed. Hunters should ALWAYS wear latex or similar gloves when field dressing animals. And should keep their mouths SHUT when field dressing wild game.

    John Jefferson, “Woods, Waters and Wildlife” columnist, may be reached at 512-219-1199 or on his website, johnjefferson.com.