Jess Battison
An Aussie mum has died after an accidental dog bite turned into a deadly infection.
Tracy Ridout from Perth was ‘playfully nipped’ on the hand while playing with her friend’s dog, 9News reports.
The small bite started off as just a little wound after the dog accidentally bit her finger instead of the toy.
Her daughter Sophie told PerthNow: “She didn’t think anything of it just bandaged it up.”
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But the mum-of-two ended up developing a rare infection called Capnocytophaga Canimorsus.
Capnocytophaga is a bacteria that lives in the mouths of cats and dogs and, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most people who have been in contact with the animals do not become sick.
However, in a small number of cases, the infection can cause serious complications.
For Tracy, it quickly spread to her kidneys, liver and blood and sent her into septic shock.
She was placed in an induced coma and was left fighting for her life. Her daughter Sophie told 9News last week: “Mostly all of her body has gotten infected at this point.
"I've gone through shock, um I've just broken down crying, I've also just thought, 'no this isn't happening this isn't real'."
Tracy’s son Kieran also revealed that the family were trying to raise awareness about the bacteria and warn others due to their shock of how badly the infection took over.
He said: “I feel like the knowledge needs to be out there. God forbid it happens to someone else's mum or someone's family member in.”
After a week in hospital, doctors told Tracy’s family on 25 August that there wasn’t anything more they could do to save her.
“All of her organs have pretty much shut down." Sophie told PerthNow. "They’ve just taken her off dialysis and they just said whenever we’re ready at this point just to let her go.”
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said that around three in 10 people who develop a severe infection from the bacteria die.
Those with compromised immune systems, diabetes and who excessively use alcohol have a higher risk of infection.
Typically, Capnocytophaga infections occur in adults over the age of 40, but there have been cases in young children.
Symptoms can include blisters around the wound within hours of being bitten, fever, vomiting and diarrhea.
It is recommended that if you are bitten by a dog or cat to wash the area immediately with soap and water and call a doctor, even if you don’t necessarily feel unwell.
Tracy’s family had initially set up a crowdfunding campaign to cover the mum’s medical bills.
It was later updated to help them with funeral costs.