American woman lost arms and legs after a dog licked her

Many of us have pets thatwe love very much and consider it as full-fledged family members. However, not many people know that our pets can be carriers of deadly infectious diseases. They say that they learn from the mistakes of others. Read about how an ordinary game with a dog led a resident of an American Ohio to lose her arms and legs as a result of a dangerous infection in her body that was contained in the animal's saliva.

The tragic story of a woman named Mary Trainerstarted soon after she and her husband returned home from a vacation in the caribbean. She began to deteriorate rapidly. Because of the symptoms, the couple initially thought that the woman had the flu. She had back pain, sudden changes in temperature, nausea. When Marie became really bad, her husband took her to the hospital. Doctors began to aggressively treat her with medicines, but the woman's condition rapidly deteriorated with each passing hour. Moreover, there were all signs of the development of sepsis on the face - a general lesion of the body by some kind of pathogenic microbes.

A warning: Below are photos not for the faint of heart..

Doctors decided to put Marie in artificial(drug sleep) to slow the progression of the disease, and took blood tests. It turned out that her body is affected by the bacterium kapnotsitofagom. All the time, while Marie was in a state of artificial coma, doctors fought for her life. The woman had blackened arms and legs, indicating the development of gangrene (dying off of cellular tissue).

Surgeons performed several removal operations.affected areas, but it did not help. As a result, doctors were forced to stop the spread of infection and get rid of gangrene the only way - to amputate arms and legs. After ten days of medication sleep, the woman regained consciousness without limbs.

When I woke up in the hospital, I did not immediately understand where I was. It was very hard to find that they removed my legs and arms. It's hard to accept, ”the woman said in an interview with Fox 8.

How do bacteria enter the body?

Kapnotsitofag bacteria under the microscope

Doctors believe that the bacteria have dropped capnocytophagusin the body of Marie from one of her dogs through a small scratch on the hand of the hostess during the usual game with the animal. The Science Alert portal, citing American scientists, reports that these bacteria are found in saliva of 74 percent of all dogs on Earth. They also contain the saliva of cats, but are passed from them to humans much less often. At the same time being in the body of the animal, they do not create for him any harm.

Read also: In the US, they will stop catting cats to study an infection that affects half of the world

These statistics say that cases of seriousdamage to the body by bacteria kapnotsitofagami, which lead to such consequences as in Marie, in medical practice revealed very little. About 50 percent of Americans in their entire lives at least once exposed to the bite of dogs. But the cases of infections with capnocytophagus, doctors have noted only a few dozen. For example, from 1972 to 2004 only 54 such events were reported.

As for world statistics, according toAccording to one study, since 1976, only 200 cases of animal bites were recorded, which as a result led to the infection of humans with these bacteria. It is noted that most often the defeat of these bacteria occurs in the elderly. This is explained by the fact that with age the effectiveness of our immunity decreases.

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In addition, older people thickets feed themselvespets. Other factors that increase the risk of serious consequences from bacterial contamination with the capnocytophagus include diseases such as HIV and cancer. Also increase the risk of infection with the use of medicines and substances (alcohol, smoking), reducing immunity.

How does infection occur and how to avoid it?

In the human body, bacteria kapnotsitofagiget through bites, cuts or scratches on the body, as well as mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and mouth. Once in the wound or on the mucous membrane, they cause reddening in this place, which can even be overlooked. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in general, further symptoms of an organism being infected with the capnocytophage bacterium look like flu symptoms: chills, vomiting, muscle and joint pain, sudden changes in temperature, and aches throughout the body. At the same time, they can manifest themselves not immediately, but only 1-14 days after the bacteria enter the body. In the future, the development of infection can lead to even more serious consequences, even lethal.

Because bacteria most often get throughDoctors advise that the wounds on the arms and legs, as well as the bites, be thoroughly cleaned with water and soap. Kissing animals is also not the best idea, doctors say. When observing a deterioration in health due to the onset of the above symptoms, physicians are advised to immediately go to the hospital.

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