{"id":8037,"date":"2017-08-13T15:37:45","date_gmt":"2017-08-13T19:37:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/?p=8037"},"modified":"2018-03-13T22:16:57","modified_gmt":"2018-03-14T02:16:57","slug":"dog-related-infectious-diseases-as-an-excuse-to-show-pictures-of-dogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/index.php\/dog-related-infectious-diseases-as-an-excuse-to-show-pictures-of-dogs\/2017\/08\/13\/","title":{"rendered":"Dog-Related Infectious Diseases as an Excuse to Show Pictures of Dogs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>For proof that we&#8217;re not like other human members of the planet, when ID doctors think of dogs, it sometimes brings to mind one or more\u00a0of following associations:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Gastroenteritis due to <em>Campylobacter jejuni. <\/em><\/strong>No, there&#8217;s\u00a0nothing\u00a0cuter in the world than a puppy &#8212; but\u00a0remember that these little critters are particularly predisposed to symptomatic (and asymptomatic) campylobacter infection, and, given our inability to resist picking up puppies and cuddling them, not surprisingly <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/23445833\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">can be the source of human infection as well.<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>Older dogs are less susceptible, so probably best to keep the puppies out of the <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4197190\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">elder care facilities.<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The wonderfully named bacterium<\/strong> <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.antimicrobe.org\/b92.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Capnocytophaga canimorsus.<\/strong><\/a> <\/em>This is a\u00a0rare cause of sepsis after dog bites &#8212; in particular in people without spleens, those who consume too much alcohol, and the immunocompromised. A good trivia question for parties is to ask someone the bug&#8217;s original name,\u00a0which was\u00a0&#8220;DF-2&#8221;, standing for &#8220;Dysgonic fermenter.&#8221; Then ask them what &#8220;<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/medical\/dysgonic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">dysgonic<\/a><\/strong>&#8221; means. Then ask the difference between &#8220;DF-2&#8221; and &#8220;DF-1&#8221;. That will make you the life of the party. (For the record, I have no\u00a0idea what\u00a0&#8220;DF-1&#8221; is.)<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/03\/echinococcus_lifecycle.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-8033\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/03\/echinococcus_lifecycle-300x226.gif\" alt=\"echinococcus_lifecycle\" width=\"300\" height=\"226\" \/><\/a>Dogs are the &#8220;definitive host&#8221; of\u00a0<em>Echinococcus granulosus.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0This parasitic infection (which can cause nasty cystic lesions in the liver, lungs, and brain)\u00a0is most common in people who raise\u00a0sheep, which like humans act as\u00a0intermediate hosts. But dogs are required to complete the life cycle, and they\u00a0get\u00a0infected when they eat\u00a0discarded meat and internal organs from echinococcus-infected sheep. That might be yuck to us, but it&#8217;s no doubt yum to them. Here&#8217;s the <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/parasites\/echinococcosis\/biology.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CDC-approved life cycle diagram,<\/a><\/strong> if you don&#8217;t believe me.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Rabies.<\/strong> (Cue scary music here.)\u00a0Even though\u00a0there hasn&#8217;t been a human\u00a0case of rabies linked to a dog bite sustained <em>within the USA<\/em> in decades, every ID doctor\u00a0frequently receives\u00a0calls about dog bites and the risk of rabies. That&#8217;s not surprising since 1) dog bites still account for over 90% of human\u00a0cases world-wide; 2) rabies is nearly 100% fatal, and; 3) there are <a href=\"http:\/\/www.salon.com\/2017\/08\/07\/anti-vaxxer-dog-owners-are-now-putting-their-and-your-pets-health-at-risk_partner\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>anti-vaccine crackpots who have spread their nonsense to their\u00a0dogs.<\/strong> <\/a>Couldn&#8217;t make this stuff up.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Of course that&#8217;s hardly the full list &#8212; there&#8217;s <em>Dipylidium caninum<\/em> (dog tapeworm), <em>Ancylostoma\u00a0caninum<\/em>\u00a0(dog hookworm), <em>Microsporum canis<\/em> (ringworm), <em>Brucella canis <\/em>(transmitted to humans when infected pregnant dogs have spontaneous abortions),\u00a0and <em>Ehrlichia canis<\/em> (the cause of ehrlichiosis), just to list those that have the Latin root for dog in their name.<\/p>\n<p>And we could on with several other infections\u00a0that, in various settings, have been linked to dogs. A true potpourri of zoonoses! There&#8217;s\u00a0giardiasis,\u00a0<em>Yersinia pestis<\/em> (yes, that&#8217;s the plague), leptospirosis, <em>Pasteurella\u00a0multocida<\/em> (though cats really deserve most of the blame for this one) &#8212; even <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/index.php\/mrsa-in-pets\/2009\/09\/25\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">MRSA!<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Which brings me to the real reason for this post, which is to show three pictures of dogs that struck me as particularly fetching, infectious risks of owning these beasts\u00a0notwithstanding. First, my friends just got an adorable puppy named Elijah &#8212; and here he is.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/08\/elijah.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-8434\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/08\/elijah.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"452\" height=\"397\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/08\/elijah.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/08\/elijah-300x263.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/08\/elijah-768x674.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/08\/elijah-1024x899.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 452px) 100vw, 452px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Second, and just so someone close to me won&#8217;t get jealous, here&#8217;s a recent picture of a\u00a0very\u00a0vigilant Louie, who has clearly spotted some danger in the distance (or maybe just a squirrel).<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/08\/IMG_2073.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-8435\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/08\/IMG_2073.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"503\" height=\"377\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/08\/IMG_2073.jpg 4032w, https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/08\/IMG_2073-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/08\/IMG_2073-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/08\/IMG_2073-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 503px) 100vw, 503px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Third, I happen to work with <a href=\"http:\/\/physiciandirectory.brighamandwomens.org\/details\/1180\/francisco-marty-infectious_disease-boston\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Francisco Marty<\/a>, who is not only\u00a0a\u00a0remarkable clinician and clinical researcher, but also one extraordinary photographer. And below is proof,\u00a0entitled <a href=\"https:\/\/500px.com\/photo\/222600271\/dumbo-s-dachshund-by-francisco-marty\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">&#8220;DUMBO&#8217;s Dachshund!&#8221;<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Woof!<\/p>\n<div class=\"pixels-photo\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/drscdn.500px.org\/photo\/222600271\/m%3D900\/v2?webp=true&amp;sig=e19f963ff5ad0de5e06f90f6d5aacb697a8c576bdff751d6b1cb123f651c7e0d\" alt=\"DUMBO's Dachshund! by Francisco Marty on 500px.com\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For proof that we&#8217;re not like other human members of the planet, when ID doctors think of dogs, it sometimes brings to mind one or more\u00a0of following associations: Gastroenteritis due to Campylobacter jejuni. No, there&#8217;s\u00a0nothing\u00a0cuter in the world than a puppy &#8212; but\u00a0remember that these little critters are particularly predisposed to symptomatic (and asymptomatic) campylobacter [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[283,1157],"class_list":["post-8037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health-care","tag-dogs","tag-zoonoses"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8037"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8037\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}