A woman who went on a drunken rampage at a hostel and mauled a paramedic left him fearing he had HIV.
Michelle Pollard was said to be suffering from a seizure yet appeared to be fully conscious as she stood on a toilet at the hostel while aggressively waving a cistern lid.
Ambulanceman Mark Sullivan tried to calm Pollard down before the 42-year-old sank her teeth into his thumb with such force they penetrated his glove and drew blood.
He underwent tests for HIV after it was mistakenly suggested to him Pollard had the virus.
Pollard had no history of epilepsy but there was an investigation into whether she was having a "psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) - seizures that occur as a result of psychological causes, such as severe mental stress.
Manchester Crown Court heard she had been fitting "before and after the bite".
On Tuesday Pollard of Collyhurst, Manchester admitted occasioning actual bodily harm and was given 16 months jail suspended for two years.
The court heard the incident occurred on July 2019 when Mr Sullivan was called to the Centrepoint Hostel in Manchester.
Prosecutor William Staunton said that the paramedic, who had not been bitten before in his line of work, was directed along with a colleague to the rear toilet where the defendant was in a cubicle.
There they found Pollard fitting, which Mr Sullivan assessed not to be PNES.
Mr Staunton told the court that the defendant was aggressive and standing on top of the toilet, lifting the cistern as if to use it as a weapon.
In a statement Mr Sullivan said: "She went to hit me with the top, and I stood in front of Michelle, telling her to calm down. Michelle then bit me on my left thumb.
"It caused a lot of pain, and she wouldn't let go. She was really biting down and I pushed her to try to get her to let go.
"I then got out of the room. I was in shock due to the force of the bite. She'd bitten through the glove and broken the skin barrier and drawn blood.
Mr Sullivan was then treated as if Pollard was HIV positive, although it is unclear who said that she was, the prosecutor said.
"Mr Sullivan described the medication and treatment and the effect this has had on him and his life, and obviously, the effect on others, his family," Mr Staunton added.
Pollard was allowed out of the hostel after the assault but was arrested in January last year as she was seen walking through Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester staggering and shouting.
She started screaming at officers when questioned.
Pollard was in breach of a suspended sentence imposed in November 2017 after she assaulted a police officer.
Her lawyer David Morton said in mitigation: "She was fitting before the bite and and after the bite. She has moved forward in very positive ways.
"She has a tragic background. She suffers from an emotional personality disorder. But she he is determined to remain alcohol-free as she sees the benefit."
Sentencing Judge Maurice Greene told Pollard she may have not realised what the paramedic was doing, but said the bite was a "deliberate act."
"You'd clearly been drinking a lot of alcohol on this particular night and paramedics were called," the judge continued.
"You had a seizure or a sort of seizure when the paramedic went there, picked up the top of the toilet and were going to hit Mr Sullivan with that.
"But then you bit him with such force that it went through his glove and through his skin. It drew blood.
"Some believed you were possibly HIV positive. Ultimately, that was not the case. But he had to be treated accordingly.
"It had a serious effect on him for some months. That's why it's a serious assault. He was a paramedic doing no more than his job.
"It's a very difficult job helping the public. He was trying to help you, and you treated him that way."
