Blood Transfusions & Ehrlichia
Blood transfusions from infected individuals and passed to uninfected individuals is a serious problem that has been responsible for a number of deaths.
Blood Transfusion and Organ Transplant Risks Associated with Ehrlichia species
Because Ehrlichia organisms infect the white blood cells and circulate in the blood stream, these pathogens may pose a risk to be transmitted through blood transfusions. Ehrlichia chaffeensis has been shown to survive for more than a week in refrigerated blood.
Several instances of suspected E. chaffeensis transmission through solid organ transplant have been investigated, although to date no cases have been confirmed that can be attributed to this route of transmission.
Patients who develop ehrlichiosis within a month of receiving a blood transfusion or solid organ transplant should be reported to state health officials for prompt investigation. Use of leukoreduced blood products may theoretically decrease the risk of transfusion-associated transmission of these pathogens.
However, the filtration process does not remove all leukocytes or bacteria not associated with leukocytes from leukoreduced blood; therefore, this process may not eliminate the risk completely.
Transfusion Related Studies
https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/56/12/e105/404451
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23511303
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22563784
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15179926
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12473139
Survival of Ehrlichia In Stored Blood
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10988303
Not Unusual To Be Detected In Organ Transplants
"Ehrlichiosis is not unusual in solid organ transplant recipients
And lung transplant recipients tend to have a more severe illness."
Liver Transplant Patient
"Reinfection with E. chaffeensis after a 2-year interval..."
Tennessee Hospitals
"Between 1998 and 2006, 15 transplant patients
Were identified as having ehrlichiosis."
Transplanted Organs & Ehrlichiosis
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24330198
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19228344
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11927032
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11435982
Kidney Transplant Recipient
"Renal transplant recipient male on maintenance
immunosuppressive therapy presented with high grade fever,
leukopenia, thrombocytopenia and elevated transaminases
and initially met clinical criteria for severe sepsis."
Pancreas Transplant Recipient
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11429038
Graft Loss
Transfusion-transmitted ehrlichiosis
Following cord blood stem cell transplant