CDC: Transplant Patient Died From Parasite in New Organs

The transplants are linked to Emory University, though whether the organs were retrieved there or the transplants took place there has not been disclosed. Emory representatives would say only that they were aware of the cases.

A 37-year-old who received a kidney-pancreas transplant died of Chagas disease in October; a 32-year-old who received a liver transplant died of transplant complications in July; and a 69-year-old who received the other kidney was treated for four months and is recovering. Names and hometowns were not disclosed.

The infected organs all came from the cadaver of a Central American immigrant who was apparently infected with T. cruzi, a parasite which causes Chagas disease, the CDC said.

The disease, previously confined to Latin America, can cause heart irregularities. Ten percent to 30 percent of people infected with the parasite develop full-blown Chagas disease.

More than 16 million people are reported to be infected by the parasite in Central and South America, and CDC officials estimated as many as 100,000 Latin American immigrants in the United States may carry the parasite. Since the disease can lie dormant in the body for many years, neither the Central American donor nor the donor's family may have known of the infection.

"It's a complex issue," said Herwaldt. "Which donors would be screened? What test would be used? Right now even blood donors aren't screened for this infection."

"We screen for a large number of potentially transmissible illnesses -- for HIV, hepatitis and a whole host of other things," said Dr. Christian P. Larsen, director of the Emory Transplant Center. "The problem is that there are a whole host of diseases around the world that are potentially transmissible, and it is exceedingly difficult given the time constraints of organ donation to be able to screen for every conceivable illness."