COMMON WILDLIFE DISEASES
and PARASITES in
the NWT & Nunavut
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"Cheesy"
tubercle within normal pink lung tissue
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Bison
lung containing pus-filled cavities / tubercles.
Photo
credit: C.C. Gates, GNWT, RWED, Ft. Smith Region
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What causes
tuberculosis? |
Tuberculosis
is caused by a
bacteria (Mycobacteria
bovis).
TB
is spread by direct contact with material coughed up by infected
animals.
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Where
do
tuberculosis
occur? |
TB
can occur in a wide variety of birds and animals including humans.
In
the NWT, tuberculosis is found in wood bison in Wood Buffalo National
Park and the Slave River Lowlands.
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What
are the signs of tuberculosis? |
In
bison, tuberculosis usually affects the lungs,
causing difficulty breathing, coughing, and discharge from the
mouth or nose.
Small,
pale rounded lumps can form in the lungs or on the lining of the
ribcage, or in other organs like the liver, kidneys, spleen, windpipe
and the associated
lymph nodes (glands).
There
may be one or many lumps and they may vary in size.
They
may appear in only one or in many organs.
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How
can I protect myself? |
|
You
can get tuberculosis by eating contaminated meat which has not been
well cooked, or by inhaling
bacteria
from open wounds, droppings, or
discharge from the nose and mouth of infected animals.
Lungs
or other infected areas and lymph nodes should be handled with care,
preferably with protective gloves.
Butcher
the animal carefully and do not cut into infected parts.
Wash
your
hands, knives and clothes with hot soapy water after handling the
animal.
Report
any animals suspected of having tuberculosis to
your local Renewable Resource Officer.
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Do not eat any affected parts.
If the disease is wide-spread within the body, the
animal should
not be used for human consumption.
Thorough
cooking will
kill the
bacteria.
Freezing, smoking, drying and pickling
will not kill the
bacteria.
Do not feed infected parts to dogs.
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infected
organ (including lymph nodes, if possible)
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Tubercles
Rib |
| Tubercles
on inside of rib cage.
Photo credit: S. Tessaro |
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