Can a lick from a dog threaten your life?
This question comes after a bizarre story out of Wisconsin.
Greg Manteufel started feeling sick June 27 and went into septic shock, according to a GoFundMe account set up in his name. Doctors confirmed he contracted Capnocytophaga Canimorsus.
His family says the rare infection came from being licked by a dog.
After the story was posted on the 11Alive Facebook page, some viewers wanted to know if a dog lick could potentially kill you.
11Alive talked to Dr. Casey Barton Behravesh, a veterinary epidemiologist with a masters of science in parasitology.
"We're talking about a bacteria called Capnocytophaga," she said.
"The important thing to know about this bacteria is that it's very common in the mouth of dogs and cats, but the animals themselves don't get sick from it," Behravesh explained. "But in rare cases it can spread to people through bites, scratches, or through close contact with dogs and cats."
In 2016, the Journal of Hand Surgery wrote there had been 484 cases of sepsis from a dog or cat's saliva since 1961, making it a "comparatively rare condition."
They also found that of the patient's who went in septic shot, 60 percent of them died.
So even though it is rare,11Alive was able to verify that, yes, a dog's lick can kill you.
