His cat bites him and dies four years later: but why?

These days it’s about Henrik Kriegbaum Plettnera Dane who recently died of an infection caused by cat bite, four years ago. It was all for a good cause, okay in 2018 the now deceased decided to pick up an abandoned cat that had just had puppies. While handling them, one of them bit him, causing little or no harm. However, over time, the arm became so inflamed that he had to rush to the hospital. Once there, he underwent several interventions that ended arm amputation. Since then, he has had several relapses and health problems that ended in his death last October.

The family did not publicize this story. However, they finally decided to make it known in order to warn other people of the danger that a simple cat bite can pose.

Now, is it really that dangerous? Can we take precautions to prevent the same thing from happening to this person? The truth is, there are some. And this is something we must clearly understand before demonizing cats; so logically It’s not your fault at all.

A cat bite that ended very badly

As explained from ABCinitially, the man did not care to bite and It took hours to call the hospital. Then once he did, they didn’t really care about it, so they called him the next day.

By the time they arrived, the hand was already very bad. They found that he had an infection that was not only destroying the tissue in his arm. He also got into the blood. They were prescribed antibiotics and an attempt was made to save the limb, but this failed. From then on, he got worse and worse, until finally, four years later, he died of an infection.

Bacteria that cause infection

From what they say from daily mailpublication that originally published the news, the infection was caused by a bacterium called Pasteurella multicid. It is part of the normal cat mouth microbiota, but also other petsAs dogs. It is usually transmitted to humans through bites, licks, or scratchesafter which cellulitis infection occurs for a short period of time, 3 to 6 hours. It is important to note that this is not cellulite accumulation of fat, but a bacterial infection that occurs in the subcutaneous tissue. After this infection erythema nodosum. That is, a skin lesion characterized by the presence of painful nodules.

All this is usually inverted with antibiotics. However, sometimes if the infection reaches blood flowcomplications such as pneumonia, meningitis, or sepsis may occur. It is much more common in people who are immunosuppressed or have underlying medical conditions. That is, they previously had other diseases that could further complicate the situation.

Can this be prevented?

With all this, there are measures that can be taken to prevent complications. On the one hand, as he explained hypertext feline expert veterinarian fatima whiteThe main form of prevention isavoid bites and scratcheswithout playing with your hands or disturbing the animals.” He cites, for example, the case of cats that have just given birth to puppies and are much more receptive. Or even small kittens who don’t have as much control over their teeth and may react more harshly.

But suppose that even with care we cannot avoid being bitten or scratched. In this case, Blanco advises:wash immediately with soap and waterthen clear with antiseptic and Go to a doctor because I might prescribe an antibiotic.”

Let’s remember that this man was treated 24 hours after being bittenor, so the infection was already widespread. In addition, the mother of the deceased stated that daily mail that the cat has bitten directly into the blood vessel and, having small teeth, the hole was closed laterallowing bacteria to flow through the blood. It also wouldn’t have been as serious if the wound had been quickly disinfected and given antibiotics as soon as possible.

On the other hand, it should be noted that Pasteurella multicid are not the only bacteria present in cats that can cause human infection. There are also cases with Bartonella henselawhich causes what is “known in the medical literature as cat scratch disease“. In these cases, the procedure is the same.

it’s not the cats fault

In short, it is true that cats can transmit diseases through bites or scratches. So can dogs. The main thing is to avoid injuries, and if they do happen, disinfect them properly. Millions of people have cats at home and don’t have a sad end to this Danish patient. Despite this, his family is correct in the statement he made via daily mail. It’s best to seek help as soon as possible, even if it’s just a small wound caused by a cat. After that, there is no reason not to share our lives with them.