Bite Wounds

PATHOGENS

• Commonly seen pathogens:
  • Pasteurella spp.
    • P. multocida (cats and dogs)
    • P. septica (cats)
  • Capnocytophaga canimorsus (dogs): infrequent but can be severe with asplenia or cirrhosis.
  • Eikenella corrodens (humans)
  • Streptococcus spp (all bites, especially S. anginosus)
  • Staphylococcus aureus (all bites, including 30-50% of dog and cat bites)
  • Staphylococcus intermedius (dogs)
  • Anaerobes (50 - 70% of all bites, especially Prevotellaspp., but rarely detected)
• Viruses: case reports following human bite wounds
  
  • HIV
  • Hepatitis B
  • Hepatitis C
• Monkey bites: see Herpes B virus module.
• Bear bites: strep, staph, Enterococcus and gram negatives (E. coli,Proteus, Citrobacter, Serratia)
• Rat bites: Streptobacillus moniliformis, Spirillum minus