The teacher warns: "The saliva dog is dangerous for the man" Interior

"Never let a dog lick your wounds," says Guy Cornelis, microbiologist emeritus at the University of Namur Het Nieuwsblad . Cornelis is one of the few professors in the world to study the danger that saliva poses to public health.

The professor is finalizing a study, at the request of the European Union, on dog breeds infected by their saliva. can infect.

"The answer is simple: we can not exclude any dog ​​breeds at the moment." I found examples of saliva contamination in all breeds of dogs, "says Guy Cornelis

Amputation [19659005]. A recent example from Austria. A man had a wound in his hand that hurt a lot. He thought: if I let my dog ​​lick it, the pain could go away. A few days later, the man died at the hospital

Another example: a Canadian licked her dog on her leg injury. She has fallen into a coma. When she woke up, her limbs were amputated

Dogs licking you the wound: do not do it

Ⓒ Hollandse Hoogte

"In dog saliva is the bacterium capnocytophaga canimorsus, which is harmless for the dog but fatal for humans, a very strange bacterium," explains Professor Cornelis

. It looks like a flu

The symptoms are confusing for a general practitioner. They resemble those of the flu: fever, general feeling of nausea and sometimes of vomiting.

"With these symptoms, the doctor will not send you to the hospital soon.If he does, a blood test will indicate that you are infected with your dog's saliva.But it often takes two days before to know the results of the blood test. "

At this point, the patient may already be dead. Because the saliva bacteria works at the speed of lightning. Some victims have already died three days after infection. The danger does not exist in a dog bite because people still go to the hospital where they receive the right injections.

"Also the skin"

"Once again, not all contacts are contagious and all do not die. But you do not take any chances. So, if you have an injury, do not touch a dog. Not only his muzzle can make you sick, but also his skin, because the dog licks it regularly. "

A while ago, a discussion about dog saliva took place on social media: a video of a woman sharing an ice cream with her viral dog." Marinus, 43, from Deventer , has been disputed with his cousin 30 years ago and since then they have never seen each other again.

However, the danger exists especially when the saliva gets into the blood, for example in case of a wound