A Bite From a Kitten Led to a Man’s Death Four Years Later, Family Says

An unfortunate kitten chunk seems to have led to a Danish man’s demise 4 years later. He reportedly contracted a critical an infection following the chunk that hospitalized him for a month, precipitated the amputation of his finger, and left him in ever-declining well being. The man’s household disclosed his current demise in hopes of elevating consciousness that cat bites ought to at all times be taken critically.

As initially reported by the Daily Mail, Henrik Kriegbaum Plettner had adopted a cat and her kittens from a shelter in 2018. While shifting one of many kittens, it bit him on his index finger. Plettner didn’t assume to hunt medical consideration till a couple of hours later, when his hand had swelled to twice its measurement. He then known as a physician however was informed to attend till the subsequent day. Eventually, he ended up on the Kolding Hospital in Denmark.

Plettner remained within the hospital for a month, the place he underwent 15 operations. Though he appeared to get well considerably, the operations failed to revive correct functioning to his finger, and 4 months later, medical doctors determined to amputate the finger completely. Plettner would reportedly proceed to battle with well being issues, nonetheless, similar to gout, diabetes, pneumonia, and a weakened immune system. In October 2022, the 33-year-old Plettner died.

“We knew that he was doing badly. However, we had no idea that he was so seriously ill,” stated Plettner’s widow, recognized solely as Desirée by the Daily Mail.

Cat bites and scratches pose a critical illness threat, particularly in the event that they deeply puncture the pores and skin. The small holes created by the harm can typically shortly seal up, trapping troublesome germs inside, and the cat’s sharp tooth or claws can present a straightforward manner for these germs to succeed in the bloodstream, the place they’ll then unfold all through the physique and trigger a serious an infection. This chain of occasions seems to be what occurred to Plettner, in line with his household.

Cats and canine can carry many microbes that may be transmitted to folks by way of a chunk or scratch. These embrace Capnocytophaga bacteria, Bartonella henselae (the germ that causes cat scratch disease), and Pasteurella multocida, the latter of which is taken into account a major source of doubtless harmful hand infections attributable to home pet bites. Cats have additionally been recognized to unfold much less frequent germs like plague. These infections will normally trigger solely gentle sickness, however extreme issues can happen to anybody. Severe infections usually tend to occur in individuals who have weakened immune techniques or different well being situations.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, folks bitten by a cat ought to instantly wash their wounds with operating water and cleaning soap however keep away from scrubbing too laborious, since that would hurt the encompassing tissue. They ought to put stress on the wound to cease any bleeding, apply antibiotic cream if obtainable, and canopy the wound with a sterile bandage. And they need to see a doctor as quickly as they’ll, inside hours if attainable.

That final bit of recommendation is a lesson that Plettner’s household hopes others will have the ability to take away from his tragic passing.

“Go to the doctor after a bite, don’t think, ‘Oh, that’s just a cat,’” his widow stated.