Sepsis Dog Lick: 56-Year-Old Undergoes Quadruple Amputation After Suspected Canine Contact
Manjit Sangha, 56, has returned home after 32 weeks in hospital following a rapid and life-threatening case of sepsis that doctors believe may have begun with a sepsis dog lick on a small cut or scratch. The case matters because it ended with the amputation of both hands and both legs and highlights how quickly sepsis can escalate from an everyday event.
Warning: this article contains images some readers might find upsetting.
Return home from Ward 9 at Moseley Hall in Birmingham
After a hospital stay lasting 32 weeks, Manjit Sangha left Ward 9 at Moseley Hall in Birmingham on a Wednesday and was met by her family in Penn on the Wolverhampton/Staffordshire border. Medical staff had expected she would almost certainly die, yet she was discharged to a welcome from relatives as she began the next stage of recovery at home.
What Manjit Sangha says about sepsis dog lick
Doctors believe Sangha’s sepsis might have been triggered by what appeared to be an innocent lick from her dog to a small cut or scratch. She has been warning others that the condition "could happen to anybody" and described the experience as difficult to explain, saying that losing her limbs and hands in such a short time was "a very big thing. "
Sangha returned home on a Sunday afternoon in July last year feeling unwell; by the following morning she was unconscious. Her husband, Kam Sangha, said her hands and feet were ice-cold, her lips had turned purple and she was struggling to breathe. He recalled the speed of her decline: "One minute on a Saturday she's playing with the dog, Sunday she's gone to work, Monday night she's in a coma. "
Critical care at New Cross and amputations at Russells Hall Hospital
While in intensive care at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton, Sangha’s heart stopped six times. Surgeons at Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley later performed amputations of both legs below the knee and both of her hands after the condition spread. Medical teams also removed her spleen; she battled pneumonia in hospital and developed gallstones that medical staff said might require further surgery.
NHS warning and UK Sepsis Trust figures on risk and symptoms
The NHS defines sepsis as a life-threatening condition that can be hard to spot, and the UK Sepsis Trust states there are about 50, 000 sepsis-related deaths in the UK each year. Adult symptoms can include slurred speech, extreme shivering or muscle pain, severe breathlessness and skin that is mottled or discoloured—signs intended to prompt urgent assessment by clinicians.
Work history, prognosis and what this case implies for awareness
Sangha, a former pharmacy worker who had worked seven days a week before falling ill, lost significant organ function and endured several cardiac arrests during treatment. Medical teams told the family she would almost certainly die at one point during her hospitalisation, underscoring the severity of her condition.
What makes this notable is the speed of deterioration from routine activity to multiple organ threat: in less than 24 hours Sangha went from feeling unwell at home to unconscious in hospital, and ultimately required amputations and other major interventions. Her case illustrates the challenge of identifying sepsis early and the potentially drastic outcomes even when the initial insult appears minor.
As Sangha begins to rebuild her life at home, she continues to urge vigilance about sepsis signs and early medical attention for sudden, severe changes in condition.
