UK Woman Loses All Four Limbs After Dog's Lick Leads to Severe Sepsis — What Happened and What Sepsis Is

Birmingham, United Kingdom — A 52-year-old woman in the United Kingdom has survived a devastating medical ordeal that resulted in the amputation of all four of her limbs after developing a rare but aggressive case of sepsis — a life-threatening reaction to infection that can spiral out of control and damage the body's organs and tissues in ways that permanently alter lives. Doctors believe the infection may have begun after her pet dog licked a small cut or scratch, allowing bacteria to enter her bloodstream and trigger a catastrophic immune response that nearly killed her.

How a Routine Day Turned into a Health Crisis

In July 2025, Manjit Sangha, a resident of Birmingham, England, felt unwell after returning from work one Sunday afternoon, dismissing it as fatigue. The next morning, her husband found her unconscious on the sofa — her hands and feet were cold to the touch, her lips had turned a concerning shade of purple, and she was struggling to breathe in what would become a life-threatening emergency. She was rushed to New Cross Hospital where medics placed her in an intensive care unit and induced a coma as her condition worsened with terrifying speed.

Doctors diagnosed Sangha with severe sepsis, a condition triggered when the body's immune system responds excessively to an infection, causing widespread inflammation that damages its own tissues and organs rather than just fighting the invading pathogens. In her case, the medical team believes that a minor dog lick on a cut or small scratch introduced a type of bacteria — likely Capnocytophaga canimorsus, commonly found in canine saliva — into her bloodstream. While harmless to dogs, this bacterium can cause dangerous and sometimes fatal infections in humans if it gains access to internal tissues through broken skin.

During her prolonged stay in hospital, Sangha's situation deteriorated dramatically in ways that tested the limits of modern medicine. She suffered multiple cardiac arrests, experienced widespread organ stress as her body struggled to cope, and developed disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) — a rare and severe complication in which abnormal clotting occurs throughout the bloodstream, exhausting clotting resources and causing both dangerous clots and uncontrollable bleeding simultaneously.

To save her life as the infection ravaged her body and blood flow to her extremities became critically compromised, surgeons made the difficult decision to remove both of her hands and both legs below the knee in a desperate attempt to halt the spread of tissue death. They also removed her spleen, another organ vital to fighting infection, as part of her treatment regimen.

After 32 weeks in hospital — more than half a year of intensive care, surgeries, and recovery — Sangha finally regained enough strength to be discharged and return home to a life transformed. Although she now faces a vastly different life than before — with ongoing rehabilitation, prosthetics, and therapies to regain independence — she has become a vocal advocate for sepsis awareness, urging people to take even minor wounds seriously and seek prompt medical care if symptoms arise.

Sepsis isn't an infection in itself. Rather, it's a systemic inflammatory response the body launches when it detects a serious infection anywhere in the body. In sepsis, the immune system's efforts to defend the body inadvertently trigger widespread inflammation, damaging organs and tissues that aren't directly infected. Left untreated, sepsis can lead to septic shock, where blood pressure plunges and organs begin to fail — a progression that can be fatal within hours without aggressive medical intervention.

Common infections that can escalate into sepsis include pneumonia, urinary tract infections, abdominal infections, and even skin infections that might seem minor initially. Although bacteria are the most frequent cause, fungal, viral, and parasitic infections can also trigger this dangerous cascade, making vigilance important across all types of illness.

Early symptoms of sepsis can be subtle but often include:

• Fever or abnormally low temperature as the body's thermostat goes haywire
• Rapid heart rate and breathing as organs struggle to get enough oxygen
• Confusion, disorientation as the brain is affected by inflammation
• Extreme fatigue or weakness that feels unlike normal tiredness
• Reduced urine output signalling kidney stress
• Skin changes, rashes, or discolouration like the purple lips Sangha experienced

As sepsis worsens, it can lead to septic shock, acute respiratory distress, kidney failure, and other complications requiring intensive care. In severe cases like Sangha's, poor circulation may cause tissue death (gangrene) that necessitates amputation to prevent further spread of infection and save the patient's life.

The Capnocytophaga Connection

Capnocytophaga canimorsus is a bacterium commonly found in the mouths of healthy dogs and cats, where it causes no harm to the animals. However, when transmitted to humans through bites, scratches, or even licks on broken skin, it can cause serious infection, particularly in people with compromised immune systems or certain risk factors.

Infections from this bacterium are extremely rare considering the millions of interactions between humans and their pets daily. Most people exposed to Capnocytophaga never develop symptoms. However, when infection does occur, it can progress rapidly and aggressively, making early recognition crucial.

Precautions and Awareness

Cases like Sangha's are extremely rare, and the vast majority of contact between humans and their pets does not result in serious infections, something experts emphasise to avoid unnecessary fear. However, health experts stress that basic precautions can significantly reduce risk:

• Clean and cover any cuts, scrapes, or wounds promptly with antiseptic and bandages, even small ones that might seem insignificant.
• Avoid allowing pets to lick open wounds or broken skin, no matter how well-meaning the animal.
• Watch for signs of infection such as increasing redness, swelling, warmth, or fever around any wound site.
• Seek medical help immediately if sepsis symptoms develop — time is critical in sepsis treatment.

People with weakened immune systems, those without spleens, or individuals taking certain medications may be at higher risk and should be particularly vigilant about any animal contact with broken skin.

Manjit's Message

By sharing her story publicly, Manjit hopes to raise awareness not just about pet-related risks — which are rare — but about the seriousness of sepsis overall and the importance of early detection and treatment. Her warning, that "it could happen to anybody," serves as a reminder that even innocuous events can escalate quickly without timely care and that recognising early warning signs can save lives.

She now advocates for greater public education about sepsis, hoping that her experience can prevent others from suffering similar fates. Her resilience in facing life with four prosthetic limbs has inspired many.

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Conclusion

Manjit Sangha's story is both a warning and a testament to human resilience. A routine interaction with a beloved pet led to a chain of events that transformed her life forever. But her survival and determination to raise awareness ensure that her experience will help protect others.

A dog's lick, a devastating infection, and a survivor's mission to educate the world.