Investigation into Possible Link Between Lung Transplant and Legionnaires’ Disease

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has concluded in a recent report that two recipients of lung transplants from a donor who drowned in Pennsylvania likely contracted Legionnaires’ disease as a result.

This is the first reported incident where Legionnaires’ disease infections have been linked to transplanted organs, according to the CDC.

Laboratory tests were not able to definitively determine the source of the Legionnaires’ infections.

Researchers determined that the organs were the likely cause based on the donor’s exposure to river water and the absence of any other Legionnaires’ disease infections at the hospital where the transplants took place for six months before and after the procedures.

Legionella, the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease, thrives in warm water, and there have been previous cases of people developing the disease after inhaling warm freshwater while near drowning.

In this case, the donor, a man in his 30s, had drowned after being submerged for over five minutes in a river.

Although the organs were transplanted to other patients within seven days of the donor’s death, doctors did not suspect a Legionella infection and did not test the organs for the bacteria.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health initiated an investigation into the infections after they were reported in July 2022, and the transplants occurred in May 2022.

The first recipient, a woman in her 70s (patient A), received antibiotic treatment and recovered from the Legionnaires’ infection.

Unfortunately, the second recipient, a man in his 60s (patient B), did not survive and passed away in November 2022 due to respiratory failure caused by a mucus plug in his lungs.

The other recipients of the donor’s organs, such as the heart, kidney, and liver, did not experience complications indicative of a Legionnaires’ disease infection.

This incident emphasizes the importance of taking additional precautions before transplanting organs from victims of freshwater drownings.

The CDC researchers stated, “This cluster highlights the need for increased clinical awareness of possible infection with Legionella in recipients of lungs from donors who drowned in freshwater before organ recovery.”