Manjit Sangha, a 52-year-old woman from the United Kingdom, never imagined that an ordinary evening playing with her pet dog could change her life forever.
What appeared to be an innocent lick on a small cut or scratch is believed to have triggered a severe infection that rapidly progressed to sepsis. Within days, Sangha was fighting for her life. After 32 weeks in hospital, several cardiac arrests, and multiple complications, doctors had to amputate both her legs below the knee and both her hands. She has since returned home, but her story has drawn global attention to a condition called sepsis.
Globally, sepsis remains a major public health challenge. According to data published in 2020, there were an estimated 48.9 million cases of sepsis worldwide and 11 million sepsis-related deaths, accounting for nearly 20 per cent of all global deaths. Almost half of these cases, around 20 million, occurred in children under the age of five. These figures underscore the importance of understanding what sepsis is, how it is caused, its warning signs, and whether contact with pets can truly pose a threat.
What actually happened?
In July 2025, Manjit Sangha returned home from work feeling unwell. According to reports, by the next morning, she had become unconscious. Her hands and feet were ice-cold, her lips had turned purple, and she was struggling to breathe. The deterioration was shockingly rapid.
Speaking to the BBC, her husband, Kamaljit Sangha, described the ordeal: “Your mind is all over the place. You’re thinking, ‘How can this happen in less than 24 hours?’ One minute on a Saturday, she’s playing with the dog, Sunday she’s gone to work, Monday night she’s in a coma.”
She was rushed to New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton and admitted to the intensive care unit. Doctors fought to stabilise her, but the infection had already triggered severe sepsis. Sangha suffered six cardiac arrests during her hospital stay and developed multiple complications. The infection led to significant tissue damage due to impaired blood flow, forcing surgeons to amputate both her legs below the knee and both her hands. Her spleen was also removed.
Doctors later told the BBC that they believed the infection may have entered through a small cut or scratch that had been licked by her dog. What seemed harmless may have allowed bacteria to enter the bloodstream, triggering a catastrophic immune response.
After 32 weeks in the hospital, Sangha finally returned home. Her case has reignited debate and concern over whether dogs can cause sepsis, and how common such events truly are.
What is sepsis?
According to the Mayo Clinic, “Sepsis is a serious condition in which the body responds improperly to an infection. The infection-fighting processes turn on the body, causing the organs to work poorly.”
In simple terms, sepsis is not the infection itself but the body’s overwhelming and dysregulated response to infection. Instead of targeting only the invading pathogen, the immune system triggers widespread inflammation that damages tissues and organs.
If untreated, sepsis can progress to septic shock, which involves a dramatic drop in blood pressure. The Mayo Clinic explains that septic shock can damage the lungs, kidneys, liver and other organs. When the damage becomes severe, it can lead to death. Early treatment significantly improves survival rates, making rapid diagnosis critical.
What are the symptoms?
Sepsis symptoms can be vague and vary widely, which often makes early detection challenging. Symptoms may include a change in mental status, fast and shallow breathing, unexplained sweating, lightheadedness, and shivering. In many cases, patients also show symptoms related to the original infection, such as painful urination in urinary tract infections or a worsening cough in pneumonia.
Importantly, sepsis does not look the same in every individual. It may present differently in children compared to adults. Because symptoms can mimic other illnesses, delays in recognition are common.
When sepsis progresses to septic shock, symptoms become more severe. These include the inability to stand up, extreme drowsiness or difficulty staying awake, and major changes in mental status such as severe confusion. A significant drop in blood pressure is a hallmark feature, and this stage carries a substantially higher risk of death.
How is it caused?
Sepsis can arise from any type of infection – bacterial, viral, or fungal. Common sources include infections of the lungs (such as pneumonia), the urinary tract, the digestive system, the bloodstream, catheter insertion sites, and wounds or burns.
Certain factors increase the risk that an infection will progress to sepsis. These include being over the age of 65, infancy, weakened immune systems (due to cancer treatment, HIV, or other conditions), chronic diseases such as diabetes, kidney disease or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), prolonged intensive care stays, the presence of medical devices such as intravenous catheters or breathing tubes, recent antibiotic use, and corticosteroid treatment.
As sepsis worsens, vital organs may not receive an adequate blood supply. It can also cause abnormal blood clotting, leading to small clots or ruptured blood vessels that damage tissues. While many people recover from mild sepsis, the mortality rate for septic shock remains between 30 and 40 per cent. Additionally, surviving a severe episode increases the risk of future infections.
Do dogs cause sepsis?
Manjit Sangha’s case has raised a pressing question: can dogs really cause sepsis? Medical evidence suggests that simply being near a dog or being licked on intact, healthy skin very rarely leads to sepsis.
The critical factor is whether bacteria gain entry into the bloodstream through a bite, scratch or open wound. Sepsis is not caused by the dog itself, but by infection triggered by bacteria, and the body’s overwhelming immune response to that infection.
Certain groups are more vulnerable, including people with weakened immune systems, individuals without a spleen, the elderly, and those with chronic illnesses. In such cases, bacteria introduced through broken skin may multiply rapidly and enter the bloodstream. One organism most commonly linked to severe infections after dog exposure is Capnocytophaga canimorsus, a bacterium commonly found in the mouths of dogs and cats.
A 2011 case report described “a previously healthy, 67-year-old man” who was rushed to the emergency room with fever, chills, hypotension and vomiting, and was diagnosed with septic shock. After doctors elicited a history of dog contact, cultures confirmed septicemia due to Capnocytophaga canimorsus, described in the report as “a normal oral and nasal flora inhabitant of cats and dogs that can cause severe and sometimes fatal septicemia in humans.” The authors noted the rarity of such cases despite widespread dog ownership.
Similarly, a 2017 report detailed the case of a 41-year-old man who developed septic shock after a wound was licked by his dog. He later suffered disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and required multiple amputations.
The report noted that while dog bites are common, the overall yearly incidence of infection with C. canimorsus is estimated at 0.67 per million people. “Only a small number of strains of C. canimorsus are dangerous to humans,” it stated, adding that approximately 170 cases had been published in the literature at the time, with only two linked specifically to infection through licking.
Mortality in patients presenting with sepsis remains as high as 30 per cent, and diagnosis can be delayed because symptoms are often non-specific and the bacterium is difficult to culture. The authors concluded that “dog bites or even the contact of wound surfaces with dog saliva may lead to life-threatening sepsis and potentially fatal outcomes,” particularly in immunocompromised individuals.
What experts say?
Dr P Praveen Kumar Reddy, Consultant in General Medicine at SRM Prime Hospital, Chennai, explains that dog saliva can lead to sepsis, but only in rare circumstances.
He notes that “dogs naturally carry bacteria, yeast and other microorganisms in their mouths, but these usually do not harm healthy individuals because the human immune system is strong enough to fight them off. Sepsis risk arises only when saliva comes into contact with an open cut, wound, existing skin infection or an area where the skin barrier is broken, allowing bacteria to enter the bloodstream.”
“Directly, it won’t cause septic shock,” Dr Reddy clarifies. “It progresses in stages, initially mild infection symptoms, and if not treated properly, it can worsen. In people with weakened immune systems, the body may not be able to control the infection, leading to organ damage.”
He adds that those at higher risk include individuals with diabetes, severe hypertension, hypothyroidism, chronic illnesses, diabetic foot ulcers or other skin infections. “Healthy people usually won’t have a problem. But if you have a cut or skin infection, avoid letting a dog lick that area. And always wash the area properly with soap and water if such contact happens,” he advises.
This story is done in collaboration with First Check, which is the health journalism vertical of DataLEADS
