A mum-of-two has died just weeks after being bitten by a puppy.
Tracy Ridout, 53, from Perth, Australia, suffered the ‘tiny’ injury while looking a young German Shepherd for her friend last month.
At first she “didn’t think anything of it”, but after a few days began to feel agonising pain.
She headed to Rockingham General Hospital early on August 18, where doctors found she had a Capnocytophaga canimorsus infection that was affecting her kidneys, liver and blood.
Her condition rapidly deteriorated, until eventually she was put in an induced coma and died, 11 days after the bite.
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Writing on the family’s fundraiser page, her daughter Sophie said: “Unfortunately today Tracy has sadly passed away.
“She will be missed by all her friends and family.”
Tracy did not notice any symptoms after the bite initially.
Sophie told PerthNow: “It was not vicious or anything, she was playing with the dog and accidentally bit her finger instead of the toy.
“She didn’t think anything of it, just bandaged it up.”
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Capnocytophaga canimorsus is a bacteria found in the mouths of dogs and cats, with infections in humans known to be very rare, with just 56 cases reported in England and Wales last year.
While most people do not get ill with the infection, it can be deadly for anyone with a weaker immune system – such as those on medication for cancer, or with HIV.
Symptoms include blisters near the wound, redness, swelling, pain and fever.
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After being diagnosed with the infection, Tracy was transferred to the Fiona Stanley Hospital, where doctors told the family there was nothing more they could do to save her.
Sophie said: “All of her organs pretty much shut down.”
She was taken off dialysis. Doctors told the family they were ready “just to let her go” on August 25, four days before she died.
The family is now running a GoFundMe to raise funds for Tracy’s funeral costs, as well as to raise awareness of the dangers of even the smallest of dog bites.
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