Science Lesson No. 9

The dirty, dirty human bite. In The Blow-up Man, Annette takes in a woman named Mandy. Mandy is an alcoholic with a history of prostitution. Annette claims to be helping Mandy dry out, but in actuality, it’s just another example of how Annette takes advantage of those down on their luck.

One afternoon, Annette and Mandy get into an altercation over some money that is missing. Angel lands up in the middle of it and gets his hand bit by Mandy. He makes plans to go to the health department for a tetanus shot, but is that sufficient?

The answer is no. While the risk posed by the animal bite is largely from the trauma, some risk of infection is also present, especially when the bite penetrates the skin. Infections would result from normal microbes that exist in the animal’s mouth or a disease the animal carries, like rabies.

But what about bites from other humans, you ask? Most of these injuries involve the hand whether the hand (fist) hits someone’s teeth or someone’s teeth bear down on the hand. Like animals, the person being bit is predisposed to infection from the normal flora that exists in our mouths. Saliva can contain several species of bacteria, and up to 100 million microbes per milliliter (http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/218901-treatment).

But what about a bite from someone like Mandy who has such a colorful past? A human bite can transmit a virus that the biter carries, such as hepatitis, herpes and syphilis, as well as, tuberculosis and tetanus. Angel should’ve had his hand evaluated by a trained healthcare professional (not Annette) for wound cleaning and prophylactic antibiotics. Even if signs and symptoms of infection are not present at the time of the evaluation, antibiotics should be given to prevent the development of one. Bye for now, Nina B.