16 May
Dirty mouths!
Did you know that a wound from a human bite can cause things like osteomyelitis (bacterial infection of bone)? It's true! A bite from a human has a 10-15% chance of becoming infected due to human mouths containing around 100 MILLION bacterial cells per mililiter of saliva. Oh, and those bacteria? There are up to 190 different types of 'em. In addition to the bacteria, there are viruses - Hep B, Hep C, herpes simplex. This sounds pretty bad, but according to our micro teacher today, one of the bugs found in the human mouth is Bacteroides. Bacteroides are enteric (gut) bacteria, like E. coli, that help the human intestinal tract break down food. You are more familiar with them that you think you are. Poop is 30-50% Bacteroides. When I think of Bacteroides, I think of poop.
Dogs, on the other hand, have about 130 different types of bacteria in their mouths. They have Bacteroides in their mouths too, but face it, dogs lick their butts.
Makes you wonder, doesn't it?
