Researchers trying to learn what killed the first person to receive a heart transplant from a pig have discovered the organ harbored an animal virus but cannot yet say if it played any role in the man’s death.
A Maryland man, 57-year-old David Bennett Sr., died in March, two months after the groundbreaking experimental transplant. University of Maryland doctors said Thursday they found an unwelcome surprise — viral DNA inside the pig heart. They did not find signs that this bug, called porcine cytomegalovirus, was causing an active infection.
Still, development is under way of more sophisticated tests to “make sure that we don’t miss these kinds of viruses,” added Dr. Muhammad Mohiuddin, scientific director of the university’s xenotransplant program. The Maryland team said the donor pig was healthy, had passed testing required by the Food and Drug Administration to check for infections, and was raised in a facility designed to prevent animals from spreading infections. Revivicor, the company that provided the animal, declined to comment.
Norge Siste Nytt, Norge Overskrifter
Similar News:Du kan også lese nyheter som ligner på denne som vi har samlet inn fra andre nyhetskilder.
Man who received pig heart transplant has died after pig virus foundDavid Bennett died in March, aged 57, two months after receiving a heart transplanted from a pig. The heart may have failed due to a viral infection
Les mer »
A pig virus may have contributed to the death of first pig heart transplant patientIt’s something researchers could prevent in the future.
Les mer »
Pig virus could have compromised first porcine heart transplant into a humanDavid Bennett lived two months with a pig heart before dying.
Les mer »
The pig heart that was transplanted to a human was infected with a pig virusInvestigations into the death of the first human who received a pig's heart in a transplant have revealed that the transplanted heart had a pig virus infection, MIT Technology Review reported.
Les mer »