CDC: Four Transplant Recipients Infected With West Nile Virus From Donor

The CDC said three of the four transplant recipients -- two from Georgia, two from Florida -- developed encephalitis, the inflammation of the brain that is the most serious consequence of the illness.

The fourth, a 71-year-old woman who received a liver transplant at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, was subsequently confirmed to have West Nile fever, a milder form of the virus. She was reported recovering at home.

No case of transmission of West Nile virus through blood or organ transplants had previously been reported in this country, according to the CDC. All previous cases have been contracted through contact with mosquitoes.

But finding the virus in all four organ recipients "very strongly suggests" that the disease was transmitted by the organs rather than by mosquito bites, said Dr. Lyle Petersen, a CDC West Nile expert.

"We've known for some time that there is a theoretical possibility that people can get this through blood or organ transplants," added CDC spokesperson Tom Skinner. "It's highly unusual but it's certainly possible."

The four patients, who were not identified by the CDC, received the kidneys, heart and liver of a woman who died in early August following a car accident.

One of the four recipients, a Georgia patient who received a kidney from the donor, died about four weeks after the transplant. Standard pathology tests from an autopsy showed that the recipient had encephalitis.

The other kidney recipient, a Georgia man, remains hospitalized in the Atlanta area with encephalitis.

The fourth person infected, a 63-year-old man who received a heart transplant at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital, is hospitalized in serious but stable condition.

The CDC was tracking about 60 blood donors whose products were used in transfusions to the donor before she died to determine if the blood products gave her West Nile.

Petersen said samples of the donor's blood had been taken twice: once upon arrival in the emergency room and again shortly before her organs were transplanted.

When the samples were tested for presence of the West Nile virus. The first sample was negative and the second, which occurred after she had received multiple blood transfusions, was positive. This suggests infection as a result of blood transmission.

At least 854 people in 28 states and the District of Columbia have been infected with West Nile this year. Of those people, at least 43 have died, according to the CDC.

Other sources: CDC, Atlanta Journal, Miami Herald