A man in Germany died following a rare infection he got after being licked by his dog.
With this, medical experts said pet owners should seek medical help if they feel unusual flu-like symptoms after being licked by their dogs.
The 63 year old man’s infection was caused by capnocytophaga canimorsus, a bacterium that is commonly found in the mouths of dogs and cats.
The bacteria however can only be transmitted to humans in very rare cases.
“He had been touched and licked, but not bitten or injured, by his dog, his only pet, in previous weeks,” Red Cross Hospital in Bremen, Germany was quoted in a CNN report as saying.
The man reportedly experienced symptoms similar to flu and developed severe sepsis which eventually led to necrosis.
He was put in the hospital’s intensive care unit but died due to multiple organ failure.
“Pet owners with banal, for instance flu-like, symptoms should urgently seek medical advice when symptoms are unusual,” the doctors said.
