Goodpasture's Syndrome Associated with Influenza A2 Virus Infection

Abstract

A woman developed severe hemoptysis and glomerulonephritis (Goodpasture's syndrome) in association with an apparent influenza A2 virus infection. The proliferative glomerular lesion contained immunofluorescent deposits of immunoglobulin and complement in a linear pattern along the glomerular basement membrane (GBM), suggesting the presence of anti-GBM antibodies. The pulmonary and renal functional abnormalities rapidly diminished and were absent on examination 5 years after the original illness. This suggested that the response was short-lived and may have been triggered by a transient, virally associated antigenic stimulus.