Get the latest tech news

Feral pig meat transmits rare bacteria

It took nearly two years for doctors to figure out the cause of his chest pain.

Until recently, the Brucella species were designated as select agents by the US government, a classification to flag pathogens and toxins that can potentially be a severe threat to public health, such as if they're used in a bioterror attack. Those include brain infections, neurological conditions, arthritis, anemia, respiratory involvement, pancreatitis, cardiovascular complications, like aneurysms, and inflammation of the spinal cord, among many other things. Though he couldn’t recall the specific hunter who gave him the biohazardous bounty, he remembered handling the raw meat and blood with his bare hands—a clear transmission risk—before cooking and eating it.

Get the Android app