title: [Dog saliva transmitted pathogens as etiology of fatal infections (on the topic of causal relationship)].
abstract: The authors report on 4 deaths. 3 of the victims had been bitten by dogs shortly before death; in one case the victim had close contacts with a dog. In 3 of the cases death was caused by septicemia; microorganisms occurring in the saliva of dogs, but rarely causing infection could be determined in 2 of the cases. While in case 1 there was no bite injury so that transmission must have occurred by droplet infection (without trauma) or via a discrete skin lesion, case 2 showed a penetrating dog-bite injury; in both cases the spleen had been surgically removed some years before. In case 3 a causal relationship had to be assumed between a dog bite and death, although no pathogen could be identified in microbiological tests. In case 4 death was not attributable to the dog-bite injury suffered, but was due to an internal pathological cause.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Rechtsmedizin, Freien Universität Berlin.
authors.forename: Britta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bockholdt
authors.forename: Helmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Maxeiner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001344:Autopsy / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000635:transmission*; D001733:Bites and Stings / Q000150:complications* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D002423:Cause of Death; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004285:Dogs / Q000382:microbiology*; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D006230:Hand Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009894:Opportunistic Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D012463:Saliva / Q000382:microbiology*; D018805:Sepsis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D014946:Wound Infection / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission*