Therapy Dogs Can Spread Superbugs to Kids, Hospital Finds

This March 2017 photo provided by Johns Hopkins University shows therapy dog Winnie at the university's hospital in Baltimore, Md., on Oct. 5, 2018. Meghan Davis/AP

Therapy dogs can bring more than joy and comfort to hospitalized kids. They can also bring stubborn germs.

Doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore were suspicious that the dogs might pose an infection risk to patients with weakened immune systems. So they conducted some tests when Pippi, Poppy, Badger, and Winnie visited 45 children getting cancer treatment.