Balamuthia mandrillaris Transmitted Through Organ Transplantation —Mississippi, 2009

On Dec 14, 2009, a physician in Mississippi contacted CDC to report possible transplant-transmitted encephalitis in two kidney transplant recipients who shared the same organ donor. Histopathologic testing of donor autopsy brain tissue at CDC showed amebae, and subsequent testing of specimens from t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association Vol. 304; no. 18; pp. 2008 - 2012
Main Authors Schlessinger, S, Kokko, K, Fratkin, J, Butt, F, Hawxby, A, Todaro, M, Henderson, H, Seawright, A, Parker, C, Byers, P, Gonzalez-Peralta, R, Kayler, L, Fauerbach, L, Lawrence, R, Haafiz, A, Stanek, D, Hammond, R, Thoroughman, D, Pippen, T, Johnson, S, Mahle, W, Lyon, G, Laporte, K, Kanter, K, Ivey, M, Arnold, K, Lance, S, Navarro-Almario, E, Farnon, E, Kuehnert, M, Shieh, W, Paddock, C, Zaki, S, Drew, C, Schmitz, A, Sejvar, J, Sriram, R, Visvesvara, G, Beach, M, Yoder, J, Roy, S, Qvarnstrom, Y, Bandea, R, daSilva, A, Bosserman, E, Budge, P, Lutterloh, E
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Chicago American Medical Association 10.11.2010
Subjects
Blood & organ donations
Disease transmission
Encephalitis
Infections
Transplants & implants
United States > US
Mississippi
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Summary:On Dec 14, 2009, a physician in Mississippi contacted CDC to report possible transplant-transmitted encephalitis in two kidney transplant recipients who shared the same organ donor. Histopathologic testing of donor autopsy brain tissue at CDC showed amebae, and subsequent testing of specimens from the donor and the two kidney recipients confirmed transmission by transplantation of Balamuthia granulomatous amebic encephalitis (GAE), a rare disease caused by Balamuthia mandrillaris, a free-living ameba found in soil. One kidney recipient, a woman aged 31 years, died; the other recipient, a man aged 27 years, survived with neurologic sequelae. This is the first reported transmission of Balamuthia by organ transplantation. Organ procurement organizations (OPOs) and transplant centers should be aware of the potential for Balamuthia infection in donors with encephalitis of uncertain etiology, and OPOs should communicate this elevated risk for infection to transplant centers so they can make an informed risk assessment in the decision to accept an organ. Among other things, a CDC editorial note is included.
ISSN:0098-7484
1538-3598