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Original Article
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Volume 354:2235-2249 May 25, 2006 Number 21
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Transmission of Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus by Organ Transplantation
Staci A. Fischer, M.D., Mary Beth Graham, M.D., Matthew J. Kuehnert, M.D., Camille N. Kotton, M.D., Arjun Srinivasan, M.D., Francisco M. Marty, M.D., James A. Comer, Ph.D., Jeannette Guarner, M.D., Christopher D. Paddock, M.D., M.P.H.T.M., Dawn L. DeMeo, M.D., M.P.H., Wun-Ju Shieh, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., Bobbie R. Erickson, B.S., Utpala Bandy, M.D., M.P.H., Alfred DeMaria, Jr., M.D., Jeffrey P. Davis, M.D., Francis L. Delmonico, M.D., Boris Pavlin, M.D., Anna Likos, M.D., M.P.H., Martin J. Vincent, Ph.D., Tara K. Sealy, B.S., Cynthia S. Goldsmith, M.S., Daniel B. Jernigan, M.D., M.P.H., Pierre E. Rollin, M.D., Michelle M. Packard, M.P.H., Mitesh Patel, B.S., Courtney Rowland, B.S., Rita F. Helfand, M.D., Stuart T. Nichol, Ph.D., Jay A. Fishman, M.D., Thomas Ksiazek, D.V.M., Ph.D., Sherif R. Zaki, M.D., Ph.D., and the LCMV in Transplant Recipients Investigation Team

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ABSTRACT

Background In December 2003 and April 2005, signs and symptoms suggestive of infection developed in two groups of recipients of solid-organ transplants. Each cluster was investigated because diagnostic evaluations were unrevealing, and in each a common donor was recognized.

Methods We examined clinical specimens from the two donors and eight recipients, using viral culture, electron microscopy, serologic testing, molecular analysis, and histopathological examination with immunohistochemical staining to identify a cause. Epidemiologic investigations, including interviews, environmental assessments, and medical-record reviews, were performed to characterize clinical courses and to determine the cause of the illnesses.

Results Laboratory testing revealed lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) in all the recipients, with a single, unique strain of LCMV identified in each cluster. In both investigations, LCMV could not be detected in the organ donor. In the 2005 cluster, the donor had had contact in her home with a pet hamster infected with an LCMV strain identical to that detected in the organ recipients; no source of LCMV infection was found in the 2003 cluster. The transplant recipients had abdominal pain, altered mental status, thrombocytopenia, elevated aminotransferase levels, coagulopathy, graft dysfunction, and either fever or leukocytosis within three weeks after transplantation. Diarrhea, peri-incisional rash, renal failure, and seizures were variably present. Seven of the eight recipients died, 9 to 76 days after transplantation. One recipient, who received ribavirin and reduced levels of immunosuppressive therapy, survived.

Conclusions We document two clusters of LCMV infection transmitted through organ transplantation.


Source Information

From Rhode Island Hospital and Brown Medical School, Providence (S.A.F.); the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee (M.B.G.); the Divisions of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases (M.J.K., J.A.C., J.G., C.D.P., W.-J.S., B.R.E., B.P., A.L., M.J.V., T.K.S., C.S.G., P.E.R., M.M.P., M.P., C.R., R.F.H., S.T.N., T.K., S.R.Z.) and Healthcare Quality Promotion (A.S., D.B.J.), National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta; Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School (C.N.K., F.L.D., J.A.F.) and Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School (F.M.M., D.L.D.) — all in Boston; the Rhode Island Department of Health, Providence (U.B.); the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Boston (A.D.); the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services, Madison (J.P.D.); and the New England Organ Bank, Newton, Mass. (F.L.D.).

Drs. Ksiazek and Zaki contributed equally to this article.

Address reprint requests to Dr. Kuehnert at the Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd., Mailstop A-30, Atlanta, GA 30333, or at mkuehnert{at}cdc.gov.

Full Text of this Article


Related Letters:

LCMV Transmission by Organ Transplantation
Barton L. L., Sauter C., Sauter B. V., Peters C.J.
Extract | Full Text | PDF  
N Engl J Med 2006; 355:1737-1738, Oct 19, 2006. Correspondence

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