Nefsflash: The dog's buttocks are full of germs.
So the innocent creature you love so much does its best to cleanse itself using its tongue and teeth - from the same wet snout that likes to give you kisses.
New research is urging dog owners to stop allowing their dogs to lick - and even wash their hands after petting - as this could be a source of antibiotic-resistant superbugs.
A joint team of researchers from the Royal College of Veterinary Medicine in the UK and the University of Lisbon focused on the E.coli bacterium found in human and animal fecal samples from 41 homes in Portugal and 45 in the UK.
About 14% of dogs (14 out of 85) were found to have the bacterium. This percentage was also significant in humans with 13% and lower in cats, 5%.
Harmful bacteria have evolved to withstand our most powerful drugs and are projected to be one of the greatest global threats to public health of our time.
"Even before Covid, antibiotic resistance was one of the biggest threats to public health," said study lead author Dd. Juliana Menezes, whose findings are being presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Lisbon this month. "It can make untreated health conditions like pneumonia, urinary tract and wound infections."
Researchers can not be sure who - the human or animal - is the main culprit for the spread, so they are urging pet parents to be vigilant with their young and refrain from "wet kisses" or " to eat from the owner's plate, "Menezes told the Telegraph.
She stressed that "good hygiene practices on the part of owners would help reduce the problem: washing hands after collecting dog litter, or even after petting them".
Source: NY Post
