Castrating Lambs with Teeth Can Make You Sick, US Officials Warn

WASHINGTON - It might seem like common-sense advice, but US health officials issued a short note Thursday warning that using your teeth to castrate lambs could make you sick.

Back in June, the Wyoming Department of Health was notified that two men working at a local sheep ranch came down with Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni) infections.

The patients both suffered from diarrhea and one also had abdominal cramps, fever, nausea and vomiting. One even spent a day in the hospital, according to the report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Neither patient reported having eaten poultry or unpasteurized dairy products, which can be associated with the bacterial infection. But the two men had participated in a multi-day event to castrate 1,600 lambs -- and both reported having used their teeth to do the deed.

The ranchers likely contracted the infection from fecal-oral contact during the castrations, and in the interest of health, the CDC said it advised employees to use standardized techniques for lamb castrations in the future.

Kerry Pride, an author of the report and a Wyoming-based veterinarian, told The Wall Street Journal that the bizarre castrating practice does still occur, but it was more common in the 1800s.

Read more: http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/offbeat/castrating-lambs-with-teeth-can-make-you-sick-us-officials-warn-ncxdc-120911#ixzz1g4QuLtCy