Last year, when a man was seriously ill by a capnocytophaga canimorsus bacterial infection caused by a healthy dog, physicians were forced to cut their legs and hands to save their lives.

Bumblebee Greg Mantuefel, 48, was well before flu symptoms, including fever and vomiting, worsened overnight. He began to go into septic condition, a deadly blood infection that causes tissue damage, organ failure, and death within a few hours.

Manteufel's tension dropped rapidly, reducing blood flow to the limb and causing tissue damage and bruising on the chest, face, and anywhere else, even though it was being treated with antibiotics.

After hospitalization, doctors removed infected areas including the feet of Manteufel. They then amputed more from each leg, up to the knee and both hands. Because the infection had caught the nose, he would need plastic surgery to rebuild the facial structure.

Manteufel played with eight, including his own, the period he became ill, his wife told The Washington Post. She does not know which dog is responsible for transmitting bacteria. "He loves dogs. He would touch every dog, he would not know, "she said.

Less than 500 cases of this infection have been reported, which is transmitted by bite, licking or scratching a domestic animal since 1961. Also, the bacterium is usually harmless and affects people with poor immune system, spleen problems or suffer from alcoholism.

"99% of people who have been will never have the same problem," says a specialist of infectious diseases. "It's fate work."

Manteufel is still in the hospital where he will receive further treatment and prosthetic limbs.

"We have nothing but to stay positive and get the best out of it," his wife told The Washington Post.