Rabies after lung transplantation:
Existed evidence
Letter to the Editor
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Sir, rabies is a non-curable viral infection of the central nervous
system. It is transmitted by animal bite. However, the uncommon
mode of rabies transmission, transplantation transmission is
possible (1). The consideration on lung transplantation should
be mentioned. From simple literature searching, there are at least
3 reports on 4 rabid lung recipients from several non-tropical
countries after lung transplantation (2-4). Common source from
infectious donor was also reported (3). Of interest, there was
no pre-transplantation screening of rabies. Also, no signs and
symptoms of rabies could be seen in problematic donor. Since lung
transplantation practice is the new therapeutic approach that is
increasingly performed around the world, the concern on risk of
infectious transplantation is needed. The risk of rabies should be
kept in mind. As noted, the rabies transmission can be seen in nontropical
countries, which are not the actual endemic area of rabies.
Donor screening for rabies before transplantation might be needed.
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Acknowledgements
Disclosure: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Somsri Wiwanitkit, Viroj Wiwanitkit
Email: somsriwiwan@hotmail.com
DOI: 10.3978/j.issn.2072-1439.2012.05.01
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References
Cite this article as: Wiwanitkit S, Wiwanitkit V. Rabies after lung
transplantation: Existed evidence. J Thorac Dis 2012;4(3):339-340. doi:
10.3978/j.issn.2072-1439.2012.05.01
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