4 days ago
A woman has died after being licked by a dog. Here's what you need to know
They share our sofa and sprawl across our laps. But should we let our dogs lick us? Last week it emerged that June Baxter, 83, a retired legal secretary, died of septic shock after her leg injury was licked by a dog and this led to an infection. Tests from the wound found Pasteurella multocida, a bacteria present in about 50 per cent of dogs' mouths, which typically does a dog no harm.
No, although very few incidents of serious injury or death caused by Pasteurella multocida from a dog lick have been recorded. They include an 85-year-old woman with a pet dog who had Pasteurella multocida and died with multiple organ failure after developing septic shock. In 2023 the case report authors in the journal BMC Geriatrics said that highlighting her death was 'important, given the growing cohort of elderly pet-owners seeking medical care'.
