A lick from a dog ‘can cause deadly sepsis’

DOGS can cause sepsis in humans just by licking them, doctors have warned.

A 70-year-old woman ended up in intensive care with multiple organ failure after contracting a rare infection from her Italian greyhound.

It is thought bacteria that can live in cavities in dogs’ mouths were passed on to the woman from her pet because she often petted it closely and let it lick her.

The woman’s case was particularly unusual because she had not been bitten or scratched. Doctors suspect the dog may have licked her on the mouth.

British medics wrote in online journal BMJ Case Reports that the woman – a non-smoker who rarely drank – nearly died after the infection led to sepsis.

The condition occurs when the immune system goes into overdrive as it tries to fight infection. Known as the ‘silent killer’, sepsis can lead to organ failure and be fatal.

A relative had raised the alarm after the woman, who lived alone, started slurring over the phone then became unresponsive. Paramedics found her slumped semi-conscious in a chair and took her to hospital.

At first her symptoms improved, but after four days she developed acute kidney failure and was taken to intensive care.

Blood tests revealed an infection of Capnocytophaga canimorsus bacteria – a rare but serious cause of sepsis which is often found in the mouths of cats and dogs.

She recovered after two weeks of intensive care and antibiotics and was discharged 30 days after she was admitted.

Doctors said: ‘This is an interesting case because neither scratch nor bite was established, although close petting including licks was reported.’

Research shows more than a quarter of those who get sepsis from C. canimorsus die. Some 60 per cent of these contract sepsis following dog bites, while 24 per cent have other dog contact, such as scratches. Only 13 cases of sepsis relating to C. canimorsus have been reported in the UK since 1990.

The elderly are more at risk as their immune systems may be weaker and they are more likely to own pets. The authors said: ‘This report highlights that infection can occur without overt scratch or bite injuries. It also reminds us that the elderly are at higher risk of infection, perhaps due to age-related immune dysfunction and increasing pet ownership.’

Sepsis is thought to cause more than 30,000 deaths a year. Earlier this year it emerged the number of patients admitted to hospital with the condition had risen by half in five years, to almost 400 a day.

The problem is thought to be fuelled by increasing antibiotic resistance, the ageing population and more patients undergoing surgery that puts them at risk.

It is more likely to affect young children, pregnant women, the elderly and those with underlying conditions. Experts have claimed the Government and NHS have been ‘too slow’ to raise awareness on the issue, despite damning reports revealing how children have died from the illness.

In January, it was revealed sepsis killed one-year-old William Mead after NHS 111 helpline staff missed the signs.

And in February, a report told how a boy, nine, died after doctors sent him home with a chest infection.