AABB Updates JEV Fact Sheet After Probable Transmission via Organ Transplantation

The Emerging Infectious Diseases Work Group of AABB’s Transfusion Transmitted Diseases Committee has updated its Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) fact sheet following a probable case of transmission through organ transplantation.

The update adds a newly reported case, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, involving an Idaho liver transplant recipient who developed encephalitis and died 27 days after transplantation. Metagenomic analysis of the recipient’s serum revealed sequences consistent with JEV infection. A kidney recipient from the same donor did not show symptoms and had no evidence of infection. Neither the organ donor nor multiple transfusion donors had recognized risk factors for JEV infection.

Investigators suggest the infection was most likely acquired by the organ donor through mosquito exposure in southern California and subsequently transmitted via organ transplantation, although transfusion-related transmission could not be definitively excluded.

AABB encourages members to review the updated fact sheet for current information on JEV epidemiology, transmission risk and testing limitations. Additional fact sheets are available on AABB’s Emerging Infectious Diseases web page.