A FLORIDA man in his 70s was hospitalised after contracting an illness caused by pig-derived bacteria called Brucella suis.
According to a report in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, the man had a history of heart failure, which necessitated an automated implantable cardiac defibrillator device to keep his heartbeat steady.
Starting in early 2019, he developed chest issues that led to multiple hospital stays.
His doctors at the time determined that some sort of infection had taken root in his device, but initial tests failed to find any suspects.
After several antibiotic treatments, he seemed fine for a few months, but returned to hospital with left chest discomfort and fever.
The doctors finally decided to remove his implant, which was when they identified the cause of infection.
B. suis is one of several bacteria that cause the zoonotic disease brucellosis, and the man recalled that he was gifted feral pig meat on several occasions in 2017 by a local hunter.
He touched the meat with bare hands before cooking and eating it, and while other possibilities exist, the doctors believed this was the source of his exposure to B. suis.
He was given the standard antibiotic treatment for brucellosis, and was later given a new defibrillator implant.
He is now fully recovered - and presumably a little more aware of good food-handling hygiene.
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