The cause was as surprising as his precipitous decline: a bite on the thumb from a pet cat. Emergency surgery replaced part of the aorta with a synthetic “tube valve,” and revealed the vessel was inflamed and brittle. The Toronto man looked in ill health generally, had vague abdominal pains and was wheezing when he showed up at the emergency department after falling at home. Two weeks later — despite major surgery and intensive antibiotic treatment — he was dead, septic shock having shut down his vital organs. Then tests on pieces removed from the aorta wall found the culprit: infection by Pasteurella multocida, bacteria common in pets’ mouths and most often spread by the bite of felines, with their sharp and penetrating teeth.

Source: National Post June 29, 2016 14:26 UTC