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A Wisconsin man who lost part of his forearms and bequests after contracting a rare blood infection from dog saliva is being praised by his doctor for his determination to walk again with prosthetics (Oct. 2)
AP

Greg Manteufel lies in his hospital amputation and amputated his amputated.(Photo: Courtesy of Dawn Manteufel)

MILWAUKEE – A Wisconsin man who lost his hands, feet and parts of his arms and legs to a rare blood infection transmitted by dog ​​saliva was praised by his doctors.

Greg Manteufel, 48, was discharged two weeks ago from the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Since late June, he has undergone at least 10 surgeries during which he has been arrested because of his extremities due to the infection.

"Through all of this, the real star of the show is Greg.He has had the most positive attitude of any patient, and he has approached it with a fight that I do not think I've seen in any patient," Dr. Patrick Hettinger, a plastic surgeon, commented on Manteufel's recovery.

Manteufel, who worked as a painter before his illness, started feeling sick on June 26, with a fever and pain and his legacy. When he was eventually taken to the hospital, doctors found he had contracted a rare blood infection caused by capnocytophaga bacteria that were commonly found in the saliva of cats and dogs and that almost never lead to people getting sick.

Manteufel has a dog, but doctors do not know if it was his pet or other dog that gave him the infection.

"I just could not believe it," Manteufel told reporters. "It's hard to take, you know?"

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Manteufel's horrific ordeal has not changed his love of dogs. His wife, Dawn Manteufel, said his dog was happy when he returned to Green Bay Packers.

"I still like dogs," he said.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, up to 74 percent of dogs and up to 57 percent of cats carry capnocytophaga. People also have a different strain of the same bacteria in their mouths.

The CDC does not track the number of infections from capnocytophaga because they're so rare.

Manteufel still has a long way to go with his recovery. Hettinger said: "The loss of circulation that costs him part of his limbs", Hettinger said.

Dr. David Del Toro, MD, said Dr. David Del Toro, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Specialist at the Hospital.

Manteufel said his main goal is to walk and drive again "so I can get back on life, not just be stuck somewhere."

Del Toro said he will not doubt he'll achieve that.

"No one has the determination of Greg .. I think he's going to achieve all his goals, it's just going to take a long journey," Del Toro said.

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