After being bitten by a dog in Western Australia last week, a mother-of-two from Perth has passed away.
After receiving a friendly hand bite from a German shepherd while playing with her friend’s dog, 53-year-old Tracy Ridout contracted the uncommon virus capnocytophaga canimorsus.
The small wound swiftly developed into an infection that quickly spread to Tracy’s kidneys, liver, and blood, leaving her in critical condition after slipping into septic shock and putting her in an artificially induced coma.
The majority of her body has now been sick, according to Sophie Ridout, her daughter, who spoke last week.
I simply started crying and went through shock, and I also just thought, “No, this isn’t happening, this isn’t real.”
The family is coming out about the bacteria as a caution to others, according to Tracy’s son Kieran Ridout, who stated last week that they were astonished by the emergence of the uncommon condition.
“I believe that the information ought to be shared. I pray it doesn’t happen to someone else’s mother or another family member,” Kieran added.
Although the bacteria is frequently found in the mouths of cats and dogs, it rarely makes people sick.
Infection risk is higher in those with diabetes and weakened immune systems.
The family launched a crowdsourcing effort. It was initially intended to pay Tracy’s medical expenditures, but it was later changed to assist the family with the burial expenses as well.
