A 63-year-old man recently died due to a little lick filled with bacteria from his beloved dog.
Those who own dogs or who have been around dogs most likely will be licked without issue.
But one unfortunate European man whose case has since been revealed in the European Journal of Case Reports in Internal Medicine, was extremely affected by this dog’s affection. In the report, it states how the man was licked by his dog which caused him to contract a bacteria known as Capnocytophaga.
The bacteria is known to be transmitted via bite instead of a lick and exists in the mouths of both dogs and cats. But physicians are worried that the patient was healthy prior to the licking incident where as previous cases have indicated a type of immunodeficiency, splenectomy or alcohol abuse, all of which makes the victim more susceptible to the bacteria.
After contracting the bacteria, he began to exhibit flu-like symptoms prior to sepsis setting in.
This caused bruising on his skin before it began to rot and in addition, he suffered blood clots.
The condition then caused a heart attack which killed him.
Capnocytophaga, according to a Dutch study, is an extremely rare condition that affects around one in every 1.5 million people. A third of those who contract it will die while the other two thirds of people can be left in a debilitating condition.
And when Greg Manteufel contracted the rare blood infection, he then had to have his legs and arms removed as well as had part of his face removed. But despite it all, the man stands by his dog, Ellie.
The painter, who hails from Wisconsin, was rushed to the hospital on 26 June 2018, feeling weak after a fever. Medics quickly realized he had contracted capnocytophaga.
And while it was likely that the infection from Ellie, the family decided to not get Ellie tested to determine if it was her.
Manteufel revealed that he had been around many dogs before falling ill and was not sure if that was a factor that could have caused it.
Currently, he is getting used to life using prosthetics while waiting for surgery to correct his nose.