It isn't wrong. Paul's correct, there's more than one way to phrase it.
The phrase "lost [X] to [Y]" carries the idea that Y has "taken" X away. It involves personalizing Y, thinking of it almost as an evil spirit. In this case, the infection took away his hands and feet.
These are all correct:
--In the 1986 baseball World Series, the Boston Red Sox lost to the New York Mets.
--They lost because of player Bill Buckner's error.
--During Napoleon's retreat from Moscow, more French were lost to typhus than to enemy action.