Tragic death of Staffordshire animal lover, 53
An animal lover whose spleen was surgically removed died from an extremely rare infection caused by dog saliva which had entered a cut on her hand.
Grandmother Sheena Kavanagh, aged 53, and from Staffordshire, died because she did not have the organ that prevents bacterial infections, an inquest heard.
Her spleen was removed in 1988 after she suffered a serious assault at the hands of an ex-partner.
The popular mother-of-two, who owned three dogs and six horses, fell ill at her home before she died at Stafford Hospital on April 25.
Consultant pathologist Dr Hiam Ali told the hearing that Miss Kavanagh, a care home cook, was struck down by the bug, known as capnocytophaga canimorsus, which was found in a blood sample. She said it is present in dog saliva.
Dr Ali said Miss Kavanagh, of Farm View, in Hilderstone, also suffered septic shock which caused her remaining organs to shut down, despite being immediately treated with strong antibiotics. "An organism present in dogs' saliva was found. Normally it doesn't cause any damage, but in people who have had a splenectomy this can become fatal due to the risk of septicemia," said Dr Ali. "This is extremely rare."
Under old national guidelines anyone losing their spleen would have been advised to take antibiotics for 20 years to protect against infection.
Dr Ali said that advice was subsequently reduced to 10 years. But Miss Kavanagh's daughter Melissa Bromfield, aged 27, told the hearing that her mother was not given that advice following her operation and had only begun to take penicillin in the last five years. She said she was taking the drug when she died.
South Staffordshire Coroner Andrew Haigh ruled that death was due to septic shock, capnocytophaga canimorsus, the previous splenectomy and cardiomyopathy.
Daughter Miss Bromfield, of Spot Acre, Stone, said: "This has come as a bit of a shock because she was always around dogs. She was devoted to her animals." She added: "She was more like a best friend to me than my mum. I saw her almost every day. She loved her job and everybody misses her dearly." Miss Kavanagh is also survived by her son James, aged 23.
