A man who went to hospital with a severe genital infection confessed to medics that he’d had sex with his dog.

The man – whose identity was withheld – turned up at the emergency room of San Leonardo Hospital in Castellammare di Stabia, Campania region, southern Italy on an unspecified recent date, said Italian media earlier this month (September).

Medics found he had a genital infection so severe that it could have killed him.

They named his condition as Fournier gangrene – a type of necrotising fasciitis or gangrene affecting the external genitalia or perineum.

A 2020 report put the mortality rate for Fournier gangrene at 18 per cent.

After the man failed to respond to first treatment, he was forced to confess to medics that he had had sex with his pet dog and had tried, unsuccessfully, to cure himself.

The 55-year-old man was first admitted to the intensive care unit, then to the urology unit, where he underwent a partial castration operation to remove the infected tissue.

He reportedly now faces a long period of hyperbaric oxygen therapy to regain function of his genitals and bladder.

Italian media reported that he had mental health issues.

It was not reported if he faces criminal charges.