LCMV Transmission by Organ Transplantation

To the Editor: In the report by Fischer et al. 1 and the accompanying Perspective article by Peters 2 (May 25 issue) on two outbreaks of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection in organ-transplant recipients, the authors focus long overdue attention on a neglected teratogenic zoonosis. My colleagues and I have collected clinical, laboratory, and epidemiologic information on 60 neonates with LCMV infection and their 58 mothers from many geographic locales in the United States and Europe. 3 – 5 Symptomatic maternal infection was documented in two thirds of the patients, and exposure to wild or pet rodents was recorded in approximately half the mothers. . . .