Expert issues warning after woman dies from being licked by dog
Callum Jones
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An expert has issued a warning after a British woman died from an infection that was caused by a dog licking a wound on her leg.
June Baxter, 83, from Norfolk in the UK, died on July 7 a little over a week after she cut her leg while using a commode on June 29.
Norfolk Coroner's Court was told that June was on her own at the time of the injury, but when her granddaughter Caitlan Allin arrived, her dog licked the wound.
Statements read in court this week detailed how paramedics attended to June's wound using tweezers to reposition damaged skin.
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But the Brit felt unwell the next day and was taken to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital so that further investigations could be carried out.
Health experts came to the conclusion that Pasteurella multocida, much is usually found in the mouths of dogs, was present in June's leg.
She displayed symptoms of sepsis in the following days, which ultimately caused her death on July 7, coroner Johanna Thompson ruled.
The accidental passing had secondary causes of death, including kidney, liver and heart conditions.
Thompson said: "Mrs Baxter was in frail health. On 29 June she was found to have injured her leg at her home.
"On the following day she reported feeling unwell; she was taken to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital where she was diagnosed with an infection which was subsequently identified to be arising from a domestic dog lick."
Deaths from a dog lick due to Pasteurella multocida are certainly rare, but that doesn't mean such tragedies don't happen.
Dr Andrew Conlan, who works as an associate professor in epidemiology at the University of Cambridge, told the Times: "The risk posed for serious infection from bacteria that are not normally pathogenic [capable of causing disease] is incredibly low for most healthy people."
While the bacteria can cause mild skin infections or even more serious conditions in rare cases, it's important to understand the odds.
Conlan added: "Most of the time, these commensal bacteria will not cause any problems."
Many will be asking whether we should stop dogs slobbering all over us, though Dr Margit Muller has said that doesn't necessarily need to be the case.
The veterinary surgeon told the Times: "Usually licking is not dangerous on hands and arms."
There are some exceptions, however, as Dr Muller added: "Dogs shouldn’t lick our eyes, nose and mouth — areas lined with mucous membranes, more permeable and sensitive than regular skin and prone to absorbing bacteria — or broken skin. Open wounds should be covered as a preventive measure."