Donated Organs May Be West Nile Virus Source

Four transplant patients may have been infected with the West Nile virus from the donated organs of a Georgia woman who died in August, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

The CDC said three of the four patients--two from Georgia, two from Florida--have developed symptoms of encephalitis, the brain inflammation that is the most serious consequence of the illness. The fourth person’s illness is mild.

Dr. James Hughes said doctors aren’t positive that the virus was transmitted through the transplants, but “we feel it is a high priority to rapidly and aggressively investigate them.”