Taipei  - A Taiwan man nearly died after his girlfriend bit him on the arm, infecting him with the rare a-hemolytic streptococcus bacterium, a Taipei hospital said Thursday.

The 28-year-old and his girlfriend quarreled early this month and she bit him on his left arm, leaving a one-centimetre wound, according to the Taipei Medical University Hospital (TMUH).

"Later that day, his arm was swollen, and the next day he was had a fever, had rashes all over his body and had a high count of white blood cells," said Doctor Lin Yi-chun of the hospital.

The man was rushed to the hospital and was listed in critical condition with acute myocarditis, a serious heart condition.

A laboratory test showed the patient's girlfriend had a-hemolytic streptococcus bacteria in her mouth, which were passed through the bite.

The man recovered after three weeks' treatment with antibiotics and immunoglobulin.

"This is perhaps the world's only case of one person nearly causing another person's death by passing a-hemolytic streptococcus through a bite," the doctor said. She added that the unnamed patient said he still loved his girlfriend despite everything that happened. (dpa)