Man, 71, escapes death after catching rare bug when his pet Chihuahua licked him

05 February 2024 , 18:09

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His blood tests showed that he had contracted pasteurella multocida, a common bacteria found in a dog's mouth (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A man nearly died from pneumonia after being licked by his his pet Chihuahua.

According to doctors, the 71-year-old man from the Canary Islands caught a rare bug from his pet dog. As a result, he spent three weeks in hospital, and was given supplementary oxygen to breathe.

The patient, who wasn't identified, also developed a life threatening disease called sepsis. However, before reaching out for help, the man experienced days of diarrhoea and a high fever. According to medical staff at Hospital Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, La Gomera, he didn't seek help for a week.

The man, who was a former smoker with type 2 diabetes yet led an active lifestyle - alongside dealing with high blood pressure and a lung disease, explained to doctors that he hadn't been scratched or bitten by his dog. After getting a chest x-ray, doctors found a "dense opacity" on his right lung.

He was diagnosed with pneumonia complicated by septic shock and was started on oxygen therapy and daily, injectable antibiotics. His blood tests showed that he had contracted pasteurella multocida, a common bacteria found in a dog's mouth.

Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him

Experts said pneumonia 'is rarely produced' by the bug, although it typically triggers soft-tissue infections following bits and scratches from dogs and cats. Although the team who treated him did not explicitly say he caught pasteurella multocida from a lick, they suggested it. Behaviours that can put you at risk of catching this bacteria include sharing a bed with a dog, kissing them and letting them lick you. However, in the end, the man made a "good recovery" six months after being discharged.

A man was admitted to hospital after being licked by his dog (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Dog related diseases have been on the rise. The dog disease Brucella canis spread to humans in the UK for the first time in September 2023 with three people infected. It's an incurable condition for dogs which can lead to infertility, lameness and pain.

But now three humans also caught the bacterial infection from animals for the first time, the UK Health Security Agency said. The illness is endemic in places like Eastern Europe, and previously the disease had only been seen in isolated incidents in animals imported from the region, but now cases among dogs in the UK have soared, with a record 91 spotted this year alone.

Experts believe the new cases come from contact between British dogs and imported dogs in kennels as well as the offspring of imports at breeders. There were just 9 cases in 2020, this climbed to 36 the following year and went up again to 55 in 2022. As of July this year 91 cases have been identified in the UK, according to government research.

Zesha Saleem