2 Die After Organ Transplants

Three transplant patients contracted a dangerous parasitic disease from their new organs in the first such documented cases in the United States, the government said Thursday. Two of the three women died.

A second study also released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention turned up 26 bacterial infections traced to tissue grafts that had come from cadavers in the United States.

The CDC said the graft-related infections show an urgent need to update federal regulations and industry standards for preventing contamination.

In the report involving the parasitic disease, all of the organs came from the cadaver of a Central American immigrant who was apparently infected with T. cruzi. The parasite causes Chagas’ disease, which was previously confined to Latin America. The disease can cause heart irregularities.

The CDC said it was consulting with transplant organizations nationwide to decide whether to start screening for T. cruzi.

The disease was detected in all three women, but only one recovered after antibiotic treatment.

A 37-year-old who received a pancreas and kidney died in October, a 32-year-old who received a liver died in July and a 69-year-old who received the other kidney is recovering.

The second study, on bacterial infections in tissue graft patients, was launched in November after a 23-year-old Minnesota man died of an infection he contracted from cadaver tissue used in surgery.

A 17-year-old Illinois boy became sick after receiving two tissue grafts from the same donor. That patient is recovering.

Fourteen of the 26 patients received tissue processed by the same supplier. The CDC did not name the company.