A WOMAN died from an infection caused by her granddaughter's dog licking a wound on her leg, a court has heard.
June Baxter, 83, cut her leg while using a commode at her home on June 29.
The retired legal secretary living in Attleborough, Norfolk was alone when she injured herself so pressed her community call bell.
This alerted her main carer, her granddaughter Caitlan Allin, who arrived with her dog.
Shortly after, paramedics turned up at the house to treat the injury, an inquest at Norfolk Coroner's Court heard.
The following day, June told her granddaughter she felt sick, and on July 1 she was taken to Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.
Despite being treated, her condition deteriorated, and she died from septic shock on July 7.
Tests identified pasteurella multocida on June's leg - a bacteria commonly found in the mouths of domestic animals, the inquest heard.
In a statement to the court, June's daughter, Clare Wootten said her “independent and determined” mother had suffered from sepsis previously.
She added there was a "possibility" the wound was licked by a dog, and added she "agreed with the cause of death".
Caitlan said she "didn't see her dog lick June's injury", but acknowledged it was "a possibility" as her grandma enjoyed her pet's attention.
June's medical cause of death was given as “septic shock due to left leg cellulitis due to a domestic dog lick”.
While death from a dog lick due to pasteurella multocida is rare, it's not unheard of.
Pasteurellosis, the infection caused by the bacterium, is relatively uncommon, with around 600 laboratory-confirmed cases reported annually in England and Wales.
Most cases are not severe and are easily treated with antibiotics.
But in some instances, particularly in vulnerable individuals, pasteurella multocida has been known to lead to severe complications like bacteremia, meningitis, or endocarditis, with a significantly higher mortality rate.
Previous cases 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 the case report, published in the journal BMC Geriatrics in 2023, it was highlighted her death was "important, given the growing cohort of elderly pet-owners seeking medical care".
Should you be worried about your dog licking you?
Dr Andrew Conlan, an associate professor in epidemiology in the department of veterinary medicine 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”.
He added another bacteria to be more concerned about, carried by both humans and dogs, is staphylococcus aureus and streptococcus.
Both bacterium can be present in dog saliva and trigger a variety of infections, ranging from mild skin infections to severe, life-threatening illnesses.
But "most of the time these commensal bacteria will not cause any problems," Dr Conlan added.
As to who is more likely to get infections from all these different types of bacteria, Dr Conlan said it's people whose immune systems are weakened by age or other infections who are most at risk.
