Fatal adenovirus serotype‐5 in a deceased‐donor renal transplant recipient

To the Editor V|ruses are of great importance when evaluating suspected infections in immunocompromised patients. In renal transplant patients, the occurrence of viral infections varies from weeks to months after transplant. These continue to be a significant source for morbidity and mortality causing disseminated and severe viremia (1). Most adenovirus infections in kidney transplant patients are caused by viruses of subgenus B (types 11, 34, 35), which are often limited to the urinary tract, e.g., acute hemorrhagic cystitis and kidney graft pyelonephritis. In adults with kidney transplants, the case fatality rate for this subgenus has been reported to be as high as 18% (2). We report the case of a 58 -year-old Hispanic man with a deceased-donor kidney transplant who had colitis and subsequent fatal viremia due to adenovirus serotype-5. To our knowledge, this is the ¢rst report of fatal dissiminated adenovirus serotype-5 in an adult transplanted kidney recipient, with isolation of the virus both in the blood and feces and con¢rmed by direct £uorescent antibody.