Group A strep and dogs
I was asked this the other day, in regards to a post about pets and recurrent strep infections in people: "You listed a few things to remember and one of them was how the pet might be an "innocent bystander infected by a family member." Is there any indication that a dog might get sick from licking a person infected with Group A Strep?"
Streptococcal infections in dogs are very rare. When they occur, they are typically caused by Streptococcus canis, a Group G strep. Group B strep infections have also been reported. I'm not aware of any reports of Group A (Streptococcus pyogenes) infections in dogs, despite the fact that exposure is probably very common.
Group A strep is a predominantly, if not exclusively, human pathogen. It can be found in healthy individuals (e.g. in the throats of 10-15% of healthy kids) and is the main cause of strep throat. Group A strep also causes invasive infections such as cellulitis, various soft tissue infections, and in rare circumstances, necrotizing fasciitis (flesh-eating disease). Considering how commonly healthy people carry this bacterium and how common strep throat is, you have to assume that dogs are frequently exposed to this bacterium from household contacts.
Licking a healthy human carrier would certainly create an opportunity for a dog to be exposed. Licking wounds of patients with strep infections would probably be worse. Since exposure is probably common and we don't really identify problems in dogs with this bacterium, the risk of infection in dogs is presumably very low. However, basic measures should always be used to reduce the risk of exposure to infectious agents. Even though we don't recognize Group A strep as a problem in dogs, you don't want your dog to be the first case. Dogs shouldn't be allowed to lick infected wounds for both the health of the dog and the person. Strict avoidance of people with strep throat doesn't make sense, but licking should perhaps be avoided since the sick person could also be at higher risk for a secondary infection from the multitude of bacteria present in the dog's mouth.
Bottom line... the risk of Group A strep infection in dogs is minimal, but basic hygiene practices can make the risks even lower.
Strep throat - Don't blame your dog!
My wife has a lousy immune system. She's a good indicator of whatever infectious diseases are circulating in the region. After running through a stretch where our whole family was biohazardous (baby with a cold, older two with two different bugs that they then spread to each other), Heather developed strep throat. This common bacterial disease is caused by Group A Streptococcus. I've previously posted about issues regarding strep throat and pets, and the fact that there is little evidence supporting pets as sources of strep throat in households. However, I still get asked about this, and I still see recommendations on the internet to test or even treat pets to try to contain strep throat in a household (for example, see these posts on medhelp.org and justanswer.com).
As a veterinary infectious disease specialist who runs a microbiology research lab (and someone who likes to play around and look for strange things), I'm in a perfect position to start culturing my pets to look for a link, but I don't bother. We've not found any convincing evidence, and neither have other groups, that pets are a source of strep throat for humans. There are a number of zoonotic disease concerns involving household pets, many of which dont' receive adequate attention, but this isn't one of them. More information about "Pets and Strep Throat" can be found in the previous Worms & Germs post of the same name.
Pets and strep throat
Strep throat is caused by Group A Streptococcus, a bacterium that can be found in the throat and on the skin of some healthy people. Strep throat and impetigo are the most common diseases caused by Group A Streptococcus, although severe (‘invasive’) infections can occur, including ‘flesh-eating disease’. Group A Streptococcus is typically spread between people, both from people that are sick and healthy carriers.
Group A Streptococcus carriage by dogs and cats is extremely rare, and it is unlikely that they are involved in transmission to people. There were some older studies implicating dogs in transmission of Group A Strep, however there were weaknesses in the methods used by those studies which probably lead them to misidentify other types of Streptococcus that are often found in dogs as Group A Streptococcus. There is currently no convincing evidence that pets are a source of strep throat infection, although the possibility cannot be completed dismissed.
I have had questions about treatment of pets when recurrent strep throat infections were present in a household, which is not supported by any evidence and could lead to problems like antibiotic resistance and side-effects from antibiotic use such as diarrhea. It’s hard to say whether there is any indication to test dogs or cats when recurrent strep throat is present in a household. Collection of a throat swab by a veterinarian and culture of the swab is fairly easy to do. It’s not unreasonable to consider that but a few things must be remembered:- Even if Group A Streptococcus is found in a pet, it does not mean that the pet is spreading it. The pet might just be an ‘innocent bystander’ that was infected by a family member. It makes no sense to test the pet if the rest of the household is not being tested.
- Proper identification must be performed by the laboratory to differentiate Group A Strep from other strep. Just finding ‘Streptococcus’ is not useful.
- There are no guidelines for what to do in the unlikely event that a pet is identified as a carrier.
Overall, pets are not likely a major (or even minor) source of strep throat. If strep throat is circulating within a household, it's most likely being spread between people.
