Capnocytophaga canimorsus: cis the name of a bacteria found in the saliva of dogs and cats which can be very dangerous. Indeed, according to a study from the University of Brest (Finistère), the tongues of your favorite companions could infect humans because of this germ. Published in the review Medicine and infectious diseases, the researchers’ observations show three deaths in France between February 2017 and April 2018. Last August, a 58-year-old American died in two days from the bacteria transmitted by her puppy.
Generalized infections
In September 2017, a 48-year-old man died of infection with Capnocytophaga canimorsus at the Caen University Hospital (Calvados), two days after having had his hand bitten by his dog. In February 2018, another 47-year-old man succumbed to the same generalized infection in Saint-Raphaël. The same year, the bacteria killed a 54-year-old man at Royan hospital (Charente-Maritime). He lived near a dog, but showed no sign of biting or licking a skin lesion.
Professor Geneviève Héry-Arnaud, co-author of the study, explains to Le Télégramme: “In 60% of cases, the bacteria were transmitted following a bite. In other cases, after licking a broken skin. But, sometimes, we do not find the entry route of the bacteria “. The death rate in the event of infection is estimated to be between 30% and 60% – only in the event of septic shock – when the patient is not treated in time.
A weakened immune system?
If previously, researchers thought that the infection occurred when the person’s immune system was already weakened – for example in the case of cancer, diabetes or AIDS – Royan’s latest case did not, however, present immunosuppression.
“This case recalls the extreme potential severity of rare C. canimorsus septicemia and illustrates the fact that this is possible without a context of immunosuppression and without the notion of inoculation (introduction of the bacteria into the body, editor’s note)”, the scientists noted. They recall: “This rare and difficult diagnosis should be considered in any patient with a severe and sudden infectious syndrome, especially in recent contact with a dog or a cat”. According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the bacterium Capnocytophaga canimorsus is present at 75% in the saliva of dogs, and 57% in that of cats.
Emergency medical consultation
When not killing, infection can also lead to amputations. A 48-year-old man from Wisconsin (United States) had to have his legs and parts of his arms amputated after contracting the rare blood infection. Other cases are also reported in the study.
Thus, the researchers indicate that any infection occurring within 48 to 72 hours after a bite, even if it does not seem worrying, requires an urgent medical consultation. “Faced with a serious infection without a clear etiology (factors of a disease, editor’s note), [un traitement par antibiotiques] should be considered if the patient lives near a domestic animal and all the more so if there are skin lesions or a history of bites ”, they write.
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