A Wisconsin man has had four limbs amputated after contracting a blood infection caused by his dog’s saliva.
Greg Manteufel, 48 from West Bend, Wisconsin, had flue like symptom, including fever, vomiting and diarrhea, when he went to hospital on June 27 but went into septic shock within hours of being admitted.
After blood tests, doctors diagnosed that Greg had an infection caused by Capnocytophaga canimorsus, a bacteria found in healthy dogs and cats saliva.
Doctors have amputated Greg's legs up to his kneecaps and his arms up to his mid-forearms, and they need to perform plastic surgery on his nose.
Greg was told the infection was likely transmitted via a lick from his own dog.
It is found in the saliva of healthy dogs and cats but can lead to infection in humans who are immunocompromised.
A 2014 study from Japan found the bacteria to be present in 69 percent of dogs and 54 percent of cats.
The bacteria can be transmitted to humans through bites, licks, or even close proximity with the animal - seeping into the skin even without a cut or scrape.
Greg’s wife Dawn said that her husband was a healthy person.
Fox News quoted Greg’s wife Dawn Manteufel, “It hit him with a vengeance,” and “Just bruising all over him. Looked like somebody beat him up with a baseball bat.”
“This infection in his blood triggered a very severe response on his body,” Dr. Silvia Munoz-Price, an infectious disease specialist, told Fox 6 Now.
