The American lost his arms and legs due to dog saliva: doctors told who is at risk

When Greg Manteuffel is upset or feeling depressed, she sits down next to him. At night, she sleeps under his covers. At dinner, she sits next to him, knowing that he will throw something to her. It contradicts the stereotype of the evil pit bull.

Фото: Depositphotos

“We love her like she’s our daughter,” Manteuffel said of his dog Ellie. It may be the reason that the 49-year-old owner almost died and was left without arms and legs, writes ABC News. The man suffered a serious illness, several amputations - in addition to the limbs, this included part of the upper lip and the skin of the nose. All because of Capnocytophaga, a microbe that entered his body from the mouth of Ellie or another dog he encountered.

The capnocytophage is usually found in the saliva of cats and dogs and almost never leads to human illness, unless it has an impaired immune system. But Manteuffel was completely healthy. He says that before the illness he never even used his health insurance.

The case is extremely rare, and doctors at the Medical College of Wisconsin could not explain why he became so ill. But in the past 10 years, there have been at least five other cases of healthy people having serious reactions to the germ. A team of researchers affiliated with Harvard Medical School has developed a theory about why—it's down to gene changes in all the victims.

And all this does not mean that the capnocytophage bacteria will not be able to defeat Manteuffel and other people like him again.

How it all began

In June 2018, Greg Manteuffel felt unwell and decided that he had the flu. He had a fever, vomiting and diarrhea. When the man began to get confused, his family took him to the hospital.

Doctors did blood cultures and found capnocytophages, which caused sepsis, a severe blood infection that led to a drop in blood pressure and shutdown of vital organs.

“Do what you have to do to keep me alive,” he told the doctors.

Greg had a happy life - he lived with his wife for 16 years, his son turned 26. The man had just found his feet in his own work, he loved motorcycles. He also adored his dog Ellie.

After 20 operations, he was still optimistic, inspiring his wife and son. Greg suffered amputations of the left and right arm below the elbow, as well as the legs from the middle of the knee. After about two weeks, he left the rehabilitation department and learned to move from a wheelchair to a bed, toilet and car. Typically, hospital stays last three to four weeks, said David Del Toro, medical director of the hospital department.

On the subject: Deadly virus: a woman who kissed a dog amputated all limbs

Photo: video frame YouTube / TODAY'S TMJ4

Manteuffel achieved the same quick success using prostheses for arms and legs.

“He’s unlike any other patient I’ve met before,” Del Toro said. “He just moves forward at full speed.”

Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, affiliated with Harvard Medical School, as well as the Cancer Institute and Beth Israel Medical Center, have been investigating similar cases. The team conducted genetic testing on five healthy people who had suffered capnocytophaga infections to see if they could find anything in common. They found that everyone had a gene related to the immune system that worked differently—a genetic variant.

“It was a really exciting moment,” said Elizabeth Fieg, a genetic counselor at Brigham and Women's Hospital. "The stakes are very high in these cases and the patients have been through so much."

They believe that a genetic trait makes people more susceptible to developing serious medical problems due to capnocytophaga. But they are also trying to determine whether there are other risk factors. Of the five people in the study, three survived the amputation and two did not. Fieg hopes their research can determine why some people die.

She also hopes that if their theory is confirmed, it will help diagnose cases faster and possibly save people's lives and the health of their limbs.

That is why Greg Manteuffel took the opportunity to participate in the study when he was asked to do this in August of this year. The results will be published in about a year and a half.

Manteuffel's life now includes physiotherapy classes to improve the use of hand prostheses with metal movable hooks at the end. He regularly uses the plug, and he also collects the remote control from the TV, opens the door handles, cuts vegetables and washes dishes.

He uses shortened prosthetic legs, called short legs, to prepare his body for life-size prosthetics—they've already been made and will be needed soon.

Plastic surgeons are planning another operation to improve the shape of Greg's nose by removing skin from his forehead. The nose looks large now, but will eventually be proportionate.

Photo: video frame YouTube / TODAY'S TMJ4

Greg plans to upgrade his car to ride with dentures. He intends to resume fishing and even try painting again. He also became much more sociable.

“Now everyone I see wants to hear something or talk to me. I tell them a 15 minute story about what happened. I think then they want me to leave quickly,” he said, chuckling.

On the subject: A man lost all limbs after a dog licked him

Ellie is often next to him.

“She loves children. She loves puppies and other dogs,” Manteuffel said.

But no matter how safe it may seem, Ellie may have a capnocytophage.

Manteuffel’s genetic test results are expected in three to four months. Fieg said people with the gene variant are at an increased risk of recurring capnocytophages or other infections in the future.

Ellie has since accidentally scratched Manteuffel and licked him - the man claims everything turned out okay. But even if he has a genetic trait, he says, it doesn't change anything.

“We didn’t even bother to test her,” Manteuffel said. “We weren’t going to get rid of the dog, even if the bacteria came from her.” We just love her to death."

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