What to Know
- Surgeons have amputated the legs and hands of a Wisconsin man who contracted a rare blood infection from a dog lick
- His wife says he was perfectly healthy until he started having flu-like symptoms that landed him in the hospital
- Doctors say the rare infection made his blood pressure drop; the circulation in his limbs decreased rapidly
Surgeons have amputated the legs and hands of a Wisconsin man who contracted a rare blood infection from a dog lick.
Greg Manteufel's wife, Dawn, says her 48-year-old husband was perfectly healthy until he began having flu-like symptoms that landed him in the hospital.
An infectious disease specialist says Manteufel had an infection that caused his blood pressure to drop and the circulation in his limbs to rapidly decrease. She says the bacteria that invaded his body came from a dog's saliva.
The bacteria attacked quickly and aggressively. Authorities say the infection is rare, adding that 99 percent of people with dogs will never contract the bacteria.
Manteufel remains hospitalized at a Milwaukee area hospital.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
