Abscesses

• An abscess is a pus-filled pocket situated within animal tissues surrounded by a wall or scar tissue.

• An abscess may form after a wound is infected by bacteria and cannot drain. Abscesses may form as a result of external injuries or from internal infections.

Geographic and Seasonality:

• Abscess may occur throughout the year and throughout British Columbia.

• Abscesses occur in a variety of species in northern British Columbia.

Signs and Symptoms

• Abscesses are usually characterized by a whitish, soft to firm “lump” that contains thick white, or yellowish-green, often foul-smelling, pus.

• Animals with abscesses may appear healthy without any outwards signs of disease.

• Most abscesses are found when butchering and can be found throughout the body.

• The severity of an abscess is dependent on the location in the body, the pressure they may exert on nearby tissues, the amount of tissue destroyed, their age and amount of bacterial toxins that are produced.

Meat Edible?

• Portions of meat that contain abscesses should not be eaten. If many abscesses are present throughout many organs, the animal may not be suitable for human consumption.

• If single abscesses are present they can be trimmed out and the remainder of the carcass is usually suitable for human consumption.

Human Health Concerns and Risk Reduction

• Care should taken to not cut into an abscess as pus can contaminate other parts of the carcass if the bacteria spread to other locations.

Samples for Diagnosis

• The entire abscess should be collected as well as any surrounding tissue; samples can be frozen.

Further Reading

Elkin, B, and R. L. Zamke. 2001. Common wildlife diseases and parasites in Alaska. Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Anchorage, AK.

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