A study carried out by the North Dakota Department of Health and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that people, who ate wild game or animals killed by bullets, had higher levels of lead in their blood.

Based on this finding, North Dakota health officials are recommending that pregnant women and young children should avoid eating wild game. The study released Wednesday examined the lead levels in the blood of 738 residents from North Dakota. The researchers found that higher levels of lead was found in the blood of those who ate wild game killed with lead bullets as compared to those who consumed very little or no game at all.

Although the lead levels found were not exceedingly high, they were high enough to cause serious adverse health effects. High levels of lead can pose severe health risks for pregnant women and young children under 6 as lead poisoning can lead to learning problems, damage to the brain, convulsions and even death.

Dr. Stephen Pickard, a CDC epidemiolgist who works with the state health department said the study was the first to connect lead traces in game with higher lead levels in the blood of game eaters.

He said in the study they found "the more recent the consumption of wild game harvested with lead bullets, the higher the level of lead in the blood."

In spring a physician conducting tests using a CT scanner found lead in samples of donated deer meat and since then officials in North Dakota and other states have warned about the risks of eating venison killed with lead bullets.

This also led the health department to have food pantries throw out donated venison. This action has been called premature and unsupported by science by some groups who organize venison donations.

A different study by Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources found that lead bullet fragments can spread as far as 18 inches away from a wound. "Nobody was in trouble from the lead levels," Pickard said. However, "the effect was small but large enough to be a concern," he said.