Bouquet of Bacteria--152 Varieties--Identified in Dog and Cat Bites

A dog’s bugs can be worse than its bite. Cultures from 107 infected dog and cat bites turned up 152 kinds of bacteria, including 10 not previously known to infect people, according to a study in today’s New England Journal of Medicine. There were an average of five kinds of germs per bite.

It is being hailed as the best study of the topic so far and should persuade doctors not to try the cheap route when treating infected bites, emergency physicians said. The germs are not dangerous unless the skin is broken, meaning it is probably OK to let your dog lick your face, as long as you can stand its breath. In fact, human bites are much more dangerous, in terms of germs transmitted. About 270,000 people annually go to emergency rooms to have dog and cat bites treated, and about 9,000 have to be hospitalized.

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Compiled by Times medical writer Thomas H. Maugh II