4 days ago
Deer Crash Leads German Man to Rare Tularemia Infection
A man in Germany was driving when a roe deer crashed through his car window.
Broken glass and the animal caused cuts on his face.
Blood and other fluids from the deer got into those wounds.
About a week later, he became sick and developed swelling near his face and neck.
Antibiotics did not stop the infection at first.
Doctors later found large pockets of pus called abscesses.
Tests showed that a bacterium called Francisella tularensis had caused the illness.
Doctors think the deer was carrying the bacterium.
After changing his antibiotic and draining the abscesses, the man mostly recovered.
A 39-year-old man in Germany was injured when a roe deer crashed through his windscreen.
His cuts were exposed to the deer’s blood, bodily fluids and soil.
About a week later, he developed fever-like symptoms, a facial lesion and swollen neck lymph nodes.
Doctors eventually found large facial abscesses caused by Francisella tularensis, the bacterium behind tularemia.
After treatment with ciprofloxacin and surgical drainage, he was mostly recovered three months after the crash.
- Who
- A 39-year-old man in Germany and the doctors who treated him.
- What
- The man developed tularemia after being injured by a roe deer and exposed to its bodily fluids.
- Where
- Germany; the infection affected the man’s face and neck.
- When
- Symptoms began about a week after the crash; facial abscesses were found about a month later, and he was mostly recovered after three months.
- Why
- Doctors believe bacteria from an infected deer entered his open wounds through contact with the animal’s blood and other bodily fluids.
Key facts
- Infection
- Tularemia, also known as rabbit fever
- Bacterium
- Francisella tularensis
- Initial injury
- Cuts to the man’s face from broken glass and impact with the deer
- Symptoms
- Fever-like symptoms, a skin lesion near the left eye, and swollen neck lymph nodes
- Complication
- Several large abscesses developed on the side of his face
- Treatment
- Surgical drainage and the antibiotic ciprofloxacin
- Outcome
- The abscesses had largely disappeared and the man was mostly recovered three months after the accident
