Florida woman, 32, is hospitalized with collapsed lungs after contracting fatal infection from venison BURGER

A Florida woman suffered partially collapsed lungs after contracting a fatal infection from a civilian.

The unnamed patient, 32, who heard a “cracking noise” as she breathed, went to the doctor after struggling to catch her breath for 10 days and dealing with a hacking cough.

She was prescribed antibiotics, but when they didn’t help, she was admitted to hospital and given breathing assistance.

After eight days in the hospital, tests showed she was infected with the parasite toxoplasmosis, a microscopic parasite that had led to pneumonia.

It is believed she was infected with the bacteria after eating a deer burger made with meat from a deer she had hunted herself.

It is believed that the patient developed toxoplasmosis after eating contaminated meat from a deer that she had hunted herself

The unnamed patient had partially collapsed lungs and a 'cracking sound', caused by toxoplasmosis-induced pneumonia

The unnamed patient had partially collapsed lungs and a ‘cracking noise’ due to pneumonia caused by toxoplasmosis

Doctors initially struggled to make the correct diagnosis because the pathogen is normally harmless and rarely causes serious breathing problems such as pneumonia.

She said she had not traveled outside of Florida or seen anyone sick, and that she had no pets.

The patient reported no other health problems and did not use tobacco, alcohol, or other drugs.

It wasn’t until her friend told infectious disease doctors at the University of South Florida that she had recently hunted deer during a trip to Alabama with her boyfriend.

She cooked, served and ate the venison for 20 days before going to the hospital. No one else on the hunting trip got sick.

Samples showed the deer also carried the parasite T gondii, which causes a rare infection called toxoplasmosis that sickens 225,000 people in the U.S. every year.

It usually only causes flu-like symptoms, but severe cases can lead to eye, brain and lung damage. Doctors believe the Florida patient developed pneumonia due to toxoplasmosis after eating possibly contaminated venison, which they called “very unusual.”

About 5,000 Americans are hospitalized every year due to toxoplasmosis, and 750 die.

It kills patients by attacking the immune system and organs such as the brain and lungs, leading to damage and inflammation.

Toxoplasmosis is usually caused by eating undercooked, contaminated meat, drinking contaminated water, and accidentally ingesting the parasite through exposure to cat feces, such as cleaning a litter box.

Most patients contract the disease from undercooked meat, eating unwashed fruits or vegetables, or cleaning the litter box.

The doctors said this patient’s case was rare because toxoplasmosis does not usually cause pneumonia.

“Although this syndrome is very uncommon, it underlines the importance of a comprehensive diagnostic approach, guided by a detailed history, when standard treatment is ineffective and conventional testing does not provide answers,” the medical team wrote.

The case report was published on Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.