Quebec health officials reported an outbreak of the parasitic infection, toxoplasmosis, in a at least six hunters who consumed the deer meat they killed during a hunting trip to the United States last November-December.
According to their Mar. 2019 health bulletin (computer translated), in December 2018, they received a report of a person presenting with severe headache, fever, myalgia and arthralgia, and who was coming back from the deer hunt. He required hospitalization for a few days.
This hunter had left with nine other hunters, including five others who have also presented with symptoms. The similarity of symptoms and clinical signs of the six sick hunters exhibited a common etiology.
The source of the contamination was identified to be undercooked meat from white-tailed deer harvested in Illinois.
CDC targets five Neglected Parasitic Infections in the US
Testing was performed for leptospirosis, hepatitis E, brucellosis, tularemia and toxoplasmosis. The results of the serologies were compatible with an acute Toxoplasma gondii infection in all cases
(presence of IgM antibodies or seroconversion of antibodies IgG negative to positive; the avidity of IgG, when tested, was low, indicating a recent infection).
This is the first case of toxoplasmosis outbreak in Quebec associated with the consumption of deer meat.
- Organic meat and the risk of toxoplasmosis
- South Dakota: 2018 Legionnaires’ disease increase prompts prevention workshop
- Hedgehogs linked to six additional Salmonella cases
- Canada: Measles cases reported in Calgary, Victoria and Toronto
- Florida: Measles case reported in Broward County
- California measles cases now 16, Health officials ‘very concerned’
- Mumps update: Temple, Kutztown, San Diego State
- Asian longhorned ticks with Maria Diuk-Wasser, PhD
But where is the cat ?
Interesting article. You might want to rewrite the headline to make it clear that the infected deer were taken in Illinois, USA, not Quebec.