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A dog lover woke up in hospital to find surgeons had amputated her hands and legs after she suffered a rare reaction to the saliva of one of her pets.
Surgeons removed Marie Trainer’s limbs to save her life as gangrene set in while she was in a coma.
Ms Trainer is thought to have become infected when one of her two dogs licked a scratch on her arm, causing her immune system to flare up.
When she first started feeling ill, in May, she thought it might be flu but was rushed to hospital after her temperature rose alarmingly.
The 54-year-old, from Ohio, US, developed sepsis, and suffered liver and kidney failure. As she drifted in and out of consciousness, she also complained of excruciating pain in her hands and legs.
“It hit him with a vengeance. Just bruising all over him. Looked like somebody beat him up with a baseball bat,” Dawn Manteufel said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, many Capnocytophaga species are considered normal bacteria commonly found in the mouths of humans, dogs, and cats. In fact, up to 74 percent of dogs and up to 57 percent of cats have Capnocytophaga detected in their mouths.
If you have one of these conditions and are bitten by a cat or dog, the CDC recommends calling your doctor immediately to describe your animal contact. Antibiotics are needed to treat a Capnocytophaga infection and should be started as soon as possible to prevent further complications.
In 2016, doctors in London documented the case of a 70-year-old woman who had been infected with Capnocytophaga. Writing in the medical journal BMJ Case Reports, they said she developed confusion, a headache, diarrhea, a high fever, and eventually sepsis and organ failure. While the infection had been seen before in people whod been bitten by dogs, the doctors noted it was highly unusual that this woman apparently contracted it from her dog who had licked her. They said the woman recovered after two weeks of intensive care treatment and antibiotics.
Dr. Bruce Farber, chief of infectious diseases at North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, New York, told CBS News at the time that physicians have known about this bacteria for decades.
A rare cause of illness in humans
Marie Trainer says she knows her German shepherd puppy licked a slightly infected scratch. When the bacteria spread to humans, they do so through bites, scratches or other close contact with dogs and cats, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Most people in contact with dogs and cats don’t get sick, and it’s rare for Capnocytophaga to cause illness in humans. Those at greatest risk are people with weakened immune systems, such as cancer patients and people who have had their spleens removed, the CDC said.
Those who become ill may show symptoms within three to five days, although some may show signs earlier or later, the CDC says. In rare cases, patients can develop sepsis. About 3 in 10 people who develop a severe infection die, CDC statistics show.
Capnocytophaga have been detected in up to 74% of dogs, according to the CDC. Animals can be tested for it, but those results can change, according to the CDC.
Capnocytophaga isn’t on the CDC’s list of reportable diseases, and experts say it’s hard to pin down numbers on how rare these infections are. A 2015 report found fewer than 500 laboratory-confirmed cases that had been reported since 1961, though the bacterium was not officially named as a new species until 1989.
Woman Who Lost Limbs After Dog Lick Still Loves Her
A Wisconsin man has lost both of his legs to a virulent infection after being licked by a dog, according to local reports. Earlier this summer, Greg Manteufel contracted Capnocytophaga canimorsus, a bacteria found in dog saliva that can cause sepsis, his family says.
“This bacteria caused the sepsis in Gregs body that has completely changed not only Gregs life but his entire familys as well,” states a GoFundMe page set up by Manteufels loved ones. “Within days of being admitted to the hospital while still fighting for his life, Greg first lost both feet, after a second surgery to remove more damage on legs, they amputated thru both Knee caps [sic].”
Doctors had to amputate Manteufels hands as well, CBS affiliate WDJT reports. He remains in the hospital recovering from multiple surgeries.
“We counted about eight dogs he probably came across,” his wife, Dawn Manteufel, told the station. “He doesnt want anybody to think he doesnt love dogs anymore. He loves his dog. He wants to see his dog. Its not the dogs fault. It was just some crazy thing that happened.”
Dr. Silvia Munoz-Price, an infectious disease specialist with Froedtert Hospital and the Medical College of Wisconsin, told WITI-TV the infection got into his blood and “triggered a very severe response in his body.” His blood pressure dropped and the circulation in his limbs declined.
“It hit him with a vengeance. Just bruising all over him. Looked like somebody beat him up with a baseball bat,” Dawn Manteufel said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, many Capnocytophaga species are considered normal bacteria commonly found in the mouths of humans, dogs, and cats. In fact, up to 74 percent of dogs and up to 57 percent of cats have Capnocytophaga detected in their mouths.
Capnocytophaga can cause opportunistic infections, meaning they have to have the right conditions to cause an infection, such as when a person has a weakened immune system. However, these infections in humans are extremely rare.
In 2016, doctors in London documented the case of a 70-year-old woman who had been infected with Capnocytophaga. Writing in the medical journal BMJ Case Reports, they said she developed confusion, a headache, diarrhea, a high fever, and eventually sepsis and organ failure. While the infection had been seen before in people whod been bitten by dogs, the doctors noted it was highly unusual that this woman apparently contracted it from her dog who had licked her. They said the woman recovered after two weeks of intensive care treatment and antibiotics.
Dr. Bruce Farber, chief of infectious diseases at North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, New York, told CBS News at the time that physicians have known about this bacteria for decades.
“This is an organism carried in the mouths of dog and it causes a very bad sepsis infection. But its usually in people who are immuno-compromised and usually follows a dog bite. But this is unusual because it was a lick,” said Farber, who was not involved in the womans case.
He said, either way, its very uncommon. “Ive probably seen two cases in 30 years of doing infectious disease.”
The CDC says people with the following conditions are at a greater risk of Capnocytophaga infection:
If you have one of these conditions and are bitten by a cat or dog, the CDC recommends calling your doctor immediately to describe your animal contact. Antibiotics are needed to treat a Capnocytophaga infection and should be started as soon as possible to prevent further complications.