Officials confirm 3 Cases of Chagas Disease - Trypansoma cruzi (T.cruzi)  in Organ Transplant Recipients

In a March 15, 2002 report from Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) there was a report of a 37 year old woman dying approximately 7 months after receiving kidney and pancreas organ transplants from a cadaver.  The woman had transplant surgery on March 5th, 2001, and returned to the hospital on April 19th, complaining of illness. Testing at that time revealed T.cruzi parasites in the woman’s blood. She was treated with nifurtimox but in October, 2001, died of the disease.

 Two other patients were reported to have contracted the disease. One died of complications reportedly unrelated to Chagas disease, and the other, a 69 year old woman, was reportedly treated and at the time of the report, was said to be doing well.

Chagas’ disease in humans may not develop into a lethal condition until decades following initial infection, therefore obtaining accurate statistics of patients with advanced stages of Chagas’ disease may be difficult.

 T. cruzi infection may be transmitted also by blood tranfusion because the parasite may live for at least 18-21 days in refrigerated blood. The parasites may also, according to some experts, survive freezing and thawing.

Some researchers have theorized that the risk of collecting T. cruzi infected blood is highest in the areas of the US where the greatest number of Latin American Immigrants have settled. However, blood units infected with T. Cruzi may be found in any are of the US, because blood components are shipped frequently between varying georgraphic regions of the United States.

 In stark contrast to the US policy of not screening the United States Blood supply for T. Cruzi, in Argentina, Brazil, Honduras, Uruguay and Venuzuala  blood bank screening is required by law.