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 A Wisconsin man has lost his hands and legs after he contracted a life-threatening bacterial infection from a dog. 
 
 Greg Manteufel loved riding his Harley motorcycle but might not be able to ride it again after his limbs had to be amputated after he got a blood infection which doctors believe he contracted after a dog licked him. 
 
 A friend of Manteufel’s created a GoFundMe account for him in which it described the motorcycle lover feeling ill on June 27. 
 
 “Within hours of the onset of symptoms, Greg’s body started to go into septic shock,” the fundraiser post read. “Once Greg was admitted to the hospital, they were able to confirm the reason Greg was septic.” 
 
 Manteufel had contracted a bacteria known as Capnocytophaga Canimorsus — a bacteria found in healthy dogs and cats that causes “severe sepsis and fatal septic shock, gangrene of the digits or extremities, high-grade bacteremia, meningitis, endocarditis, and eye infections” when a dog bite occurs, according to a study by the National Center for Biotechnology Information. 
 
 Greg Manteufel Courtesy Dawn Manteufel 
 
 The bacteria “hit him with a vengeance,” his wife, Dawn, told Fox 6 Now. 
 
 “Just bruising all over him,” she said, referring to the blood spots that began appearing all over his body. “Looked like somebody beat him up with a baseball bat.” 
 
 Days after he was admitted to the hospital, doctors amputated Manteufel’s feet. When more damage was sustained, he underwent a second surgery that amputated his legs through both of his kneecaps, according to his GoFundMe. 
 
 His hands — all of his fingers down to mid-palm — were also removed, with doctors telling his family his nose would need “extensive repairs” to rebuild it. 
 
 Greg Manteufel is a dog and Harley lover GoFundMe 
 
 Dawn told the Washington Post she was not sure which dog transmitted the bacteria to her husband was a dog lover and had been around eight dogs around the time he became ill. 
 
 “He loves dogs,” she told the newspaper. “He would touch any dog; he doesn’t care.” 
 
 While he may have lost his limbs, Dawn said Manteufel was determined to remain positive. 
 
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 “He told the doctors, ‘Do what you have to do to keep me alive,'” Dawn said. “There’s no negativity from him so far… He said, ‘It is what it is, so we have to move forward.'” 
 
 “There’s no choice. We have no choice but to be positive and make the best of it,” she added. ||||| Please enable Javascript to watch this video 
 
 WEST BEND -- A West Bend man contracted a blood infection after he was licked by a dog, and in an unusual set of circumstances, he needed multiple amputations. 
 
 One month ago, Greg Manteufel was a long way from a hospital bed. 
 
 "He loves riding his Harley," said Dawn Manteufel, Greg's wife. 
 
 Dawn Manteufel said her husband was perfectly healthy, but what they initially thought was the flu landed Greg in the emergency room. 
 
 "It hit him with a vengeance. Just bruising all over him. Looked like somebody beat him up with a baseball bat," said Dawn Manteufel. 
 
 She said life as they knew it changed forever. In late June, blood tests revealed an infection caused by the bacteria capnocytophaga. 
 
 "It took a week and they were taking his legs," said Dawn Manteufel. 
 
 The infection very likely entered Greg's system by something common -- getting licked by a dog, probably his own. 
 
 "This type of bacteria comes from the saliva of dogs. This infection in his blood triggered a very severe response on his body," said Dr. Silvia Munoz-Price, infectious disease specialist with Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin. 
 
 That response caused Greg's blood pressure to drop and the circulation in his limbs to decrease rapidly. 
 
 "Sometimes it decreases so much that the arms and legs just die," said Dr. Munoz-Price. 
 
 Doctors were forced to amputate his limbs. 
 
 "We can't wrap our heads around it that all of the sudden, he's 48 years old and been around dogs all of his life... and this happens," said Dawn Manteufel. 
 
 Still, Dawn and Greg Manteufel are focusing on what wasn't taken away. 
 
 "That's all he kept saying to the doctors -- 'take what you need but keep me alive.' And they did it. Surprisingly enough, they did do it," said Dawn Manteufel. 
 
 Doctors say Greg's case is simply a fluke. 
 
 "More than 99 percent of the people that have dogs will never have this issue. It's just chance," said Dr. Munoz-Price. 
 
 The Manteufel family has created a GoFundMe.com account to raise money for prosthetic limbs for Greg. CLICK HERE to access that account. ||||| A 48-year-old man from Wisconsin recently contracted a rare blood infection that led to the amputation of his legs and parts of his arms, according to news reports. And the most likely source of the devastating infection was his own dog. 
 
 Greg Manteufel went to the hospital with what he thought was the flu, local news outlet Fox 6 Now reported yesterday (July 30). But within a week, the doctors had to amputate both of his legs and, later, portions of his hands and forearms. The amputations were necessary after the infection caused Manteufel's blood pressure to drop drastically, which severely reduced blood flow to his limbs and led to tissue death. 
 
 Blood tests revealed that Manteufel's infection was caused by a bacterium called Capnocytophaga, according to Fox 6 Now. [11 Ways Your Beloved Pet May Make You Sick] 
 
 These bacteria are found in the mouths of cats and dogs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Up to 74 percent of dogs and 57 percent of cats have Capnocytophaga, but the bacteria don't cause illness in dogs and cats, the CDC says. 
 
 In humans, however, it's a different story. In very rare cases, the bacteria can spread to humans through bites, scratches or close contact with cats and dogs. The people most at risk for this infection are those with weakened immune systems, according to the CDC. (It's unclear if Manteufel had a weakened immune system). 
 
 If a person becomes infected with Capnocytophaga, the bacteria can spread to the bloodstream and cause infections in various parts of the body, including a blood infection known as sepsis. Sepsis occurs when the immune system responds overwhelmingly to an infection, triggering body-wide inflammation and, potentially, organ failure. 
 
 Most people who get sick with the bacteria typically start experiencing symptoms within three to five days of becoming infected, but symptoms may occur anywhere from one to 14 days after infection, according to the CDC. Symptoms include blisters, redness, swelling, pus or pain around the animal bite location (if a bite was involved), fever, diarrhea, headache, vomiting and muscle or joint pain. 
 
 As in Manteufel's case, the infection can sometimes lead to gangrene, or tissue death, and require amputations to save the rest of the body. 
 
 Dr. Silvia Munoz-Price, an infectious-disease specialist with Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin told Fox 6 Now that the case is extremely rare. "More than 99 percent of the people that have dogs will never have this issue. It's just chance," she said. 
 
 Originally published on Live Science. ||||| On June 27th 2018 the Manteufel family experienced a medical emergency when Greg started feeling ill, within hours of the onset of symptoms, Greg's body started to go into septic shock. Once Greg was admitted to the hospital, they were able to confirm the reason Greg was septic. He had somehow contracted the bacteria Capnocytophaga Canimorsus.This bacteria caused the sepsis in Greg's body that has completely changed not only Greg's life but his entire family's as well. Within days of being admitted to the hospital while still fighting for his life, Greg first lost both feet, after a second surgery to remove more damage on legs, they amputated thru both Knee caps. Surgery is scheduled to remove a portion of both hands as the damage from the sepsis is to extensive.Furthermore all areas of Greg's body and tissue was affected by the bacteria and the sepsis, the Drs say his nose will need extensive repairs, which means he will need plastic surgery to rebuild a new healthy nose. Greg is going to need several more surgeries, lots of healing time and his family by his side to get thru this life changing event.During this process while his family and friends are in panic and chaos Greg has held his head high and is taking all the news like a beast. He is so thankful to be alive today and is taking one day at a time.Capnocytophaga Canimorsus is a normal bacteria that grows in the mouth of up to 60% of dogs and 17% of cats. There have only been about 500 cases logged in the US and Canada since 1976 of this bacterial causing sepsis when no dog bite was found.Any help you can give the family will be greatly appreciated. Greg's recovery will be a very long process and he will need his family by his side, they will need help financially to be able to be with him during the coming months with surgeries as well as waiting to be fitted for leg and hand prosthesis which will allow him to become independent again. ||||| The furry creatures many of us call our best friend may harbor a bug that can, in rare cases, be life-threatening to humans, as one 70-year-old woman from England found out. 
 
 Her unusual case is described in the medical journal BMJ Case Reports. The woman first developed slurred speech and became unresponsive. An ambulance rushed her to the hospital where she improved, but four days later she developed confusion, a headache, diarrhea and a high fever, and her kidneys began to fail. 
 
 Blood tests revealed she had sepsis, or blood poisoning, which resulted in organ failure. For doctors, her dire condition presented a medical mystery. 
 
 A battery of tests finally determined the culprit: a bacterium commonly found in the mouths of dogs and cats, called Capnocytophaga canimorsus. 
 
 Doctors sometimes see Capnocytophaga canimorsus infections in people who've been bitten by dogs, but what made the woman's case unusual was that she hadn't been bitten -- when she entered the hospital, she didn't have any bites, scratch marks, inflammation or broken skin. 
 
 She did own a pet Italian greyhound, reported doctors from the Department of Medicine for the Elderly at the University College London Hospitals who wrote up the case report. They titled their paper, "The lick of death: Capnocytophaga canimorsus is an important cause of sepsis in the elderly" because the woman had said she'd petted her dog closely and it had licked her. 
 
 Dr. Bruce Farber, chief of infectious diseases at North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, New York, told CBS News that physicians have known about this bacteria for decades. 
 
 "This is an organism carried in the mouths of dog and it causes a very bad sepsis infection. But it's usually in people who are immuno-compromised and usually follows a dog bite. But this is unusual because it was a lick," said Farber. 
 
 He said, either way, it's very uncommon. "I've probably seen two cases in 30 years of doing infectious disease." 
 
 The authors of the case study said they wanted to flag that a pet's licks can transmit the bacterium, too -- not just a bite. 
 
 They wrote, "This report highlights that infection can occur without overt scratch or bite injuries. It also reminds us that the elderly are at higher risk of infection, perhaps due to age-related immune dysfunction and increasing pet ownership." 
 
 As cute as photos and YouTube videos of babies getting "kisses" from their pets are, Farber cautioned parents and caregivers to keep newborns away from dog and cat salvia. 
 
 "Dogs shouldn't be licking newborn babies," he said. Their immune systems aren't mature enough to fight off this type of infection. "At about after two to three months, then everything's fine." 
 
 Farber said the initial symptoms of Capnocytophaga canimorsus infection -- fever, chills, sweats, lack of energy -- can look like lots of illnesses, but what sets this type of infection apart is that a person rapidly becomes very ill. 
 
 The upside is that it's easily treated with common antibiotics. "It is very well inhibited by penicillin and cousins of penicillin," said Farber. 
 
 Shelley Rankin, associate professor of microbiology at Penn Vet, had praise for the study authors. "They've done a really nice job of tying everything together with her case," she said. 
 
 Rankin assured pet owners infections of this type are very rare. "There have only been about 13 cases reported in the entire United Kingdom, and I'm guessing on a similar scale in the U.S." 
 
 However, some deaths linked to the bacteria have been reported. 
 
 Rankin said, "In support of all things furry, this is a normal flora in the mouth of dogs." 
 
 Farber concurred, "The last thing you want to do is alarm people that they'll be infected if they get licked or kissed by a dog." If there's any concern after a bite, lick or scratch from a pet, check in with your doctor. 
 
 Luckily for the woman in the BMJ case report, two weeks of intensive care and antibiotics brought around a full recovery. ||||| A 40-year-old woman from Shawnee, Oklahoma, recently had to get major parts of both arms and both legs amputated due to a serious infection from an unnoticed tick bite after a vacation, according to her husband and hospital staff. 
 
 The patient, Jo Rogers, is currently in the intensive care unit of Integris' Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City, where she is being treated for complications stemming from Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF), her husband, Keith Rogers, told ABC News Friday. 
 
 RMSF is a potentially fatal tick-borne disease caused by the bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 
 
 "After things started going bad and she went into septic shock, the blood flow cut off to her limbs, and her hands and feet started going black," her husband said. "So, two weeks ago, they had to cut off her right leg just above the knee, her left leg just below the knee and both her arms about mid-forearm." 
 
 Keith Rogers said that he visits his wife every day at the hospital as she battles other complications from RMSF, including blood clots in her lungs that necessitated a tracheotomy last Friday. 
 
 "Every day is a new challenge," he said. "I go in there, sit and talk to her and show her pictures of how our two boys are doing. I show her videos of her two dogs back at home. I try to keep it normal, but it gets very hard because she'll want me not to leave, and it's so hard because I can't take her with me." 
 
 Though Jo Rogers currently can't speak or walk, her husband wants people to know she is a fun-loving woman who loved her dogs, hiking and nature. 
 
 The couple went hiking at Natural Falls State Park, close to the Oklahoma-Arkansas border, this past Fourth of July, he said, explaining that there weren't many waterfalls in Oklahoma and she wanted to go see one. 
 
 "But when we came back, she started feeling sick, and she thought she might have the flu," Keith Rogers said, noting that headaches turned into fevers that then became aggravated with vomiting and dizziness. 
 
 Though his wife initially resisted going to the hospital, she was so lethargic a week later that "she wasn't making any sense," Keith Rogers said, so he took her to the emergency room. 
 
 As her health deteriorated, doctors did rounds of tests on her, including tests for meningitis and West Nile Virus, but they only figured out she had complications from a tick-borne illness when she was already developing gangrene on her limbs, he said. 
 
 "We're not sure if she was bit by the tick when we were hiking at the falls or if it was at home," he said. "I don't think it's really set in with my family yet, but for me, it's up and down every day." 
 
 Keith Rogers said he's not sure if his wife will be in the hospital for a few more months or a year, but once she's fully recovered, he said she'll likely transition to rehab and that the family would take it from there. 
 
 A GoFundMe page to help cover the costs of Jo's medical care has been set up by her cousin, he added. 
 
 "RMSF is the most commonly reported tick-borne illness in Oklahoma," according to the state Health Department. "In addition, Oklahoma has one of the highest rates of RMSF in the United States." 
 
 A spokesperson for Integris' Baptist Medical Center told ABC News that Jo Rogers' physician declined to be interviewed but confirmed she was currently at the hospital being treated for RMSF and that she has had amputations. 
 
 Dr. Jennifer Ashton, a senior medical contributor for ABC News, said RMSF is s currently in peak tick season. 
 
 "It's been reported in urban areas and even found in people who have not been camping," she said. 
 
 The symptoms -- fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, and rash -- can mimic a lot of viruses, she said. 
 
 "If there is a suspicion that these symptoms could be related to a tick bite, the recommendation is to start doxycycline antibiotics immediately because time is of the essence," said Ashton.
– A Wisconsin man has lost his hands and legs after he likely received "the lick of death" from a dog, People reports. Per a GoFundMe created for Greg Manteufel, the 48-year-old house painter from West Bend started feeling sick on June 27; he and his family initially thought he had the flu, FOX6 notes. His symptoms soon worsened, however, and his wife, Dawn, rushed him to the ER, where they noticed his body was covered in bruises, "like somebody beat him up with a baseball bat," she says. Blood tests soon revealed the cause: Manteufel had gone into septic shock from the Capnocytophaga canimorsus bacteria, which Live Science notes is found in the mouths of nearly three-quarters of dogs and 57% of cats, though the animals themselves don't get sick from it. In humans, however, the bacteria can cause a blood infection, or sepsis, which can lead to organ failure and even death. Doctors had to amputate Manteufel's legs at the knees; he also lost his hands, and his nose has to be reconstructed. "He told the doctors, 'Do what you have to do to keep me alive,'" Dawn Manteufel tells the Washington Post. She adds they don't know which dog infected her husband: They counted eight dogs he'd been around at the time he fell sick, including his own. The Manteufels will have to sell their house and look for a one-story home now, and Greg Manteufel will no longer be able to work as a house painter or cruise on his Harley. Still, Dawn Manteufel says, "There's no negativity from him so far." A Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin doctor tells FOX6 what happened to Manteufel was a fluke and that "more than 99% of the people [who] have dogs will never have this issue." The GoFundMe for Manteufel has raised more than $28,000. (Snoozing with your pet can be risky.)