Life-Saving Organ Transplants Accompanied by Stealthy and Unexpected Pathogens
Authors: Camille Nelson Kotton
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2014)

Editorials18 February 2014Life-Saving Organ Transplants Accompanied by Stealthy and Unexpected PathogensCamille Nelson Kotton, MDCamille Nelson Kotton, MDFrom Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M13-2906 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Over the past decade, we have gained much insight into unexpected infections transmitted from organ donors to recipients. Although few such infections were reported before 2005, hundreds have since been reported, as now mandated by national policy. The focus in blood transfusions and organ transplantation is on the risks for transmission of HIV and hepatitis B and C. Clinicians tend to think less frequently about other pathogens, such as bacteria, fungi, and parasites, of which there have been dozens of cases of transmission (1). Such unanticipated infections can be challenging to diagnose and treat.In their article in this issue, ...References1. Ison MG, Grossi P; AST Infectious Diseases Community of Practice. Donor-derived infections in solid organ transplantation. Am J Transplant. 2013;13 Suppl 4 22-30. [PMID: 23464995] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Hocevar SN, Paddock CD, Spak CW, Rosenblatt R, Diaz-Luna H, Castillo I, et al; Microsporidia Transplant Transmission Investigation Team. Microsporidiosis acquired through solid organ transplantation. A public health investigation. Ann Intern Med. 2014;160:213-20. LinkGoogle Scholar3. Didier ES, Weiss LM. Microsporidiosis: not just in AIDS patients. Curr Opin Infect Dis. 2011;24:490-5. [PMID: 21844802] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Lee SC, Corradi N, Byrnes EJ, Torres-Martinez S, Dietrich FS, Keeling PJ, et al. Microsporidia evolved from ancestral sexual fungi. Curr Biol. 2008;18:1675-9. [PMID: 18976912] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Kotton CN. Zoonoses in solid-organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients. Clin Infect Dis. 2007;44:857-66. [PMID: 17304461] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. Barratt JL, Harkness J, Marriott D, Ellis JT, Stark D. Importance of nonenteric protozoan infections in immunocompromised people. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2010;23:795-836. [PMID: 20930074] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar7. George B, Coates T, McDonald S, Russ G, Cherian S, Nolan J, et al. Disseminated microsporidiosis with Encephalitozoon species in a renal transplant recipient. Nephrology (Carlton). 2012;17 Suppl 1 5-8. [PMID: 22497646] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. Ghosh K, Weiss LM. Molecular diagnostic tests for microsporidia. Interdiscip Perspect Infect Dis. 2009;2009:926521. [PMID: 19657457] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Camille Nelson Kotton, MDAffiliations: From Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.Disclosures: None disclosed. Forms can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M13-2906.Corresponding Author: Camille Nelson Kotton, MD, Clinical Director, Transplant and Immunocompromised Host Infectious Diseases, Infectious Diseases Division, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Cox 5, Boston, MA 02114; e-mail, ckotton@partners.org. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoMicrosporidiosis Acquired Through Solid Organ Transplantation Susan N. Hocevar , Christopher D. Paddock , Cedric W. Spak , Randall Rosenblatt , Hector Diaz-Luna , Isabel Castillo , Sergio Luna , Glen C. Friedman , Suresh Antony , Robyn A. Stoddard , Rebekah V. Tiller , Tammie Peterson , Dianna M. Blau , Rama R. Sriram , Alexandre da Silva , Marcos de Almeida , Theresa Benedict , Cynthia S. Goldsmith , Sherif R. Zaki , Govinda S. Visvesvara , and Matthew J. Kuehnert , for the Microsporidia Transplant Transmission Investigation Team* Microsporidiosis Acquired Through Solid Organ Transplantation Susan N. Hocevar , Christopher D. Paddock , Cedric W. Spak , Randall Rosenblatt , Hector Diaz-Luna , Isabel Castillo , Sergio Luna , Glen C. Friedman , Suresh Antony , Robyn A. Stoddard , Rebekah V. Tiller , Tammie Peterson , Dianna M. Blau , Rama R. Sriram , Alexandre da Silva , Marcos de Almeida , Theresa Benedict , Cynthia S. Goldsmith , Sherif R. Zaki , Govinda S. Visvesvara , and Matthew J. Kuehnert , for the Microsporidia Transplant Transmission Investigation Team* Metrics Cited byComplications of HIV/AIDS and other secondary immunodeficiencies 18 February 2014Volume 160, Issue 4Page: 282-283KeywordsFungal pathogensInfectious disease controlInfectious diseasesMicrosporidiaMicrosporidiosisOrgan transplantationParasitic diseasesPathogensSafetyTransplantation ePublished: 18 February 2014 Issue Published: 18 February 2014 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2014 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...