South African actress Charlbi Dean’s cause of death was revealed by a New York City medical examiner on Thursday, People reported.
The 32-year-old star passed away unexpectedly and suddenly last August.
A spokesperson for the New York City Chief Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed that Charlbi Dean died of bacterial sepsis, which is “a complication of asplenia, or the absence of a spleen, due to a blunt force trauma to his torso.”
Bacterial sepsis was caused by an infection with a bacterium called capnocytophaga. Different types of this bacteria exist in the mouths of humans as well as those of dogs and cats. People with autoimmune problems and without a spleen are more vulnerable.
Since the full autopsy report has not been made public, it is impossible to determine whether the origin of the infection was from an animal bite or lick.