Brucellosis bites back

I thought I would never have to say brucellosis after leaving Wyoming, but the word made a comeback this afternoon at work. I was going through some wire stories and came across a story out of Italy about how their famous export, "mozzarella di bufala," was threatened because the buffalo milk used to make the cheese was contaminated with brucellosis. Buffalo farmers are now going to have to kill up to 60,000 buffalo to prevent further spread of the disease. While in Casper, brucellosis made the headlines once a week. The Wyoming Game and Fish were always announcing plans to lower the brucellosis numbers in elk herds. One of my most memorable brucellosis moments was when the Game and Fish gave away elk meat that had brucellosis. The catch: The parts of the elk being given away were safe to eat. My friend covered the giveaway for the local paper, and he actually picked up some meat. The meat sat in his freezer for months...that is, until Labor Day. He decided to have a "brucellosis barbecue." He had steaks and kabobs, but I didn't eat any of the meat. I know, I know, those that know me know that I'm a pretty adventurous eater, but I just couldn't stomach eating brucellosis elk meat.