Dog owners have been warned to ensure their pets curb their enthusiasm when greeting their owners.
While some people think letting their dog lick their face is super-cute, it can spread a bacteria that is harmful to humans and comes with a lot of nasty symptons - including in extreme cases, gangrene.
Medical TikToker @medexplained2you, who says he is a certified physicians assistant, took to the social media platform to issue a warning. He said: "Do you kiss your dog on the mouth? Because if so it's time to stop. You could actually lose your limbs over it."
He explained that your dog carries bacteria called capnocytophaga canimorsus, that can be harmful to humans and kissing your pet is a sure way to spread those germs. The expert said: "This is a serious illness that can cause widespread systemic infection, septic shock, and even gangrene depending how fast it progresses and when it's diagnosed. Amputation may become the only treatment. Why not avoid all that trouble and just stop kissing your dog? Seems like an easy fix to me."
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And the Liverpool Echo reports that the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has backed up the claims, with its website stating: "The Capnocytophaga germs that are common in dogs and cats can be spread to people through a bite or after close contact with dogs or cats. Infections are more often linked to dog bites or dog contact."
Their guidance said that the bacteria can cause a wide range of symptoms and illnesses from gum disease and eye infections to more life-threatening issues such as septicemia and endocarditis.
Earlier this year, experts issued a warning about letting pets lick your face or letting dogs eat off your plate amid fears of spreading superbugs which are resistant to antibiotics. Dog owners are also being told to wash their hands after stroking dogs or picking up their waste.
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria killed a million people in 2019, and there is growing concern that pets may be helping spread the bugs. Researchers from the Royal Veterinary College and the University of Lisbon took regular stool samples from people, dogs and cats and found a number of both pets and humans were carrying 'bacteria of concern'.
Dr Juliana Menezes, study lead author said: “Although the level of sharing from the households we have studied is low, healthy carriers can shed bacteria into their environment for months, and they can be a source of infection for other more vulnerable people and animals such as the elderly and pregnant women. Previous studies have linked the close contact factors between pets and their owners to the sharing of bacteria (whether resistant or not). These risk factors include kissing, licking the owner's face or eating from the owner's plate. To reduce the spread of these bacteria within the household, it would be necessary to reduce this close relationship between the owners and their pets, and also to have greater hygiene practices."
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