Transmission of<i>Histoplasma capsulatum</i>by Organ Transplantation

Abstract

Histoplasmosis may occur either after primary infection or after reactivation of latent infection, and its incidence among immunocompromised persons, including recipients of organ transplants, is increasing.1–3 A variety of infectious agents are known to be transmissible by organ transplantation,4 but there has been no definitive evidence of transmission of Histoplasma capsulatum by this route. In the few previous reports of possible cases of such transmission, neither reactivation of latent infection nor primary infection from an environmental source was definitively ruled out.5–8 Recently, molecular typing of H. capsulatum has been shown to be useful in distinguishing relapse from reinfection . . .