An elderly woman has become the first reported case of infective endocarditis related to an infection on her cardiac device, which was caused by bacteria found on dogs’ claws, introduced through a puppy scratch.

The UK cardiologists who outlined the case are now warning other doctors to have a high index of suspicion for Capnocytophaga canimorsus (CCPC) — a bacterium almost exclusively found in the saliva and claws of cats and dogs — when patients present with an atypical infection and a recent animal injury.