CDC: Organ Donor TB Case Reveals Flaws in Transplant Screening Genotyping critical in outbreak investigation

A rare case of organ donor-transmitted tuberculosis occurred in California as part of a 2014-2015 outbreak, despite adherence by health officials to recommended guidelines for transplant-related TB evaluation, the CDC reported. The seven-case outbreak, which included the deceased organ donor and a double-lung recipient, was traced by CDC and California Department of Health investigators to a source case who was apparently infectious for roughly three years before receiving treatment for TB. Genotyping revealed that the organ donor was linked after death to an ongoing TB outbreak that occurred in a separate county from where the organ recipient resided. This finding has implications for health officials involved in TB control, the investigators wrote in the latest issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, published online Aug. 3. https://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/Tuberculosis/67050?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2017-08-04&eun=g721819d0r&pos=2