Wheelchair-bound woman, 86, is left with a painful infection in her legs ‘because she let her dogs lick her feet’
- The woman went to hospital with red, tender and swollen skin on her right leg
- A blood test diagnosed an extremely rare case of Streptococcus canis
- It can lead to deadly complications such as pneumonia and sepsis
- The woman, with rheumatoid arthritis, was discharged in three days
A wheelchair-bound woman was left with a serious infection in her legs that may have been caused by letting her puppy lick her feet.
The unidentified 86-year-old, from Israel, went to hospital complaining of a fever, vomiting and pain in her right leg.
An examination spotted the skin on her ankle and lower leg was red, swollen and tender – a condition known as cellulitis.
A blood test diagnosed her with Streptococcus canis, a bacterium rarely seen in humans which can be spread by animals.
Contracting the bacteria can lead to all kinds of complications, such as pneumonia and sepsis. However, the woman was able to go home after three days.
A wheelchair-bound woman, 86, was left with a serious infection in her legs after letting her puppy lick her feet, doctors have revealed (stock)
Streptococcus canis (S canis) in humans is hardly ever reported in medical literature and its exact prevalence is unknown.
S canis was first spotted in dogs and is relatively harmless to them. Cats and cattle are able to live normally while carrying the bacterium.
The woman was treated for the infection last year, according to the report, published in The Journal of Emergency Medicine.
Streptococcus canis was first discovered in dogs, hence its name (canis, meaning dog in Latin).
In dogs, the bacterium has been linked to urinary tract infections, abortion and skin infections. But this is rare and the bacterium is considered part of their healthy microbiota.
The bacteria is able to pass to humans through lesions in the skin, such as a cut or graze. This can lead to infection.
Overall, the medical literature suggests S. canis poses a particular risk for elderly or immunocompromised patients and is a zoonotic infection.
A study of 54 patients in five years, in a single French hospital, was conducted in 2007.
Most patients (65%) presented with cellulitis – red swollen skin – of the lower or upper limbs.
Two of the patients died of sepsis, while other complications included soft tissue infection – the most common – urinary infection, bone infection and pneumonia.
In these cases, none of the patients had a compromised immune system.
A 2001 study in the UK identified two cases of S. canis, one spotted in blood samples of a 76-year-old man with leukaemia and another from the ear of a 50-year-old woman. The patients had no contact with animals in these cases.
Lead author Dr Zohar Lederman, who was a physician at the Assuta Samson University Hospital in Israel at the time, said it was ‘highly likely’ the woman had been infected by her dogs – but the doctors did not take samples from her pets to confirm their suspicions.
She had a number of puppies which she would allow to lick her skin, including her toes.
However, Dr Lederman and colleagues stressed that dog licks are not a concern to the wider public.
He told LiveScience: ‘Think about all the times people all over the world receive licks from their pets and do not get sick.’
In order for a person to be infected, the bacteria has to reach deep into the skin, under the top layer – the epidermis.
The woman had cracks in between her toes, which may have been an easy access point for the bacteria to enter, Dr Lederman suggested.
She also had a weakened immune system because she took medication for rheumatoid arthritis, which left her unable to walk. She was also diabetic.
Historically S canis has shown to be most dangerous for the elderly and those with an compromised immune system.
Nonetheless, the doctors wrote, many people within this group choose to own pets, potentially unaware dogs carry bacteria which can pose a risk.
The woman was treated with antibiotics but the puppies were not, the doctors said. This is because doing so would contribute to antibiotic resistance.
There are a number of diseases or bacteria typically seen in dogs that can cause human illness. Rabies is the most commonly known virus, spread through a bite.
Capnocytophaga canimorsus can also be spread through by a lick from a pet.
While most people who have contact with an animal with C. canimorsus don’t get sick, last month, doctors in Bremen, Germany, reported the death of an unidentified 63-year-old man.
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