Health watchdog warns of deadly heart surgery infection

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has issued a health alert after a fifth person fell victim to the deadly Mycobacterium chimaera infection after heart surgery in an Australian hospital. 

The latest incident occurred at a hospital in Victoria, following three cases in NSW and one in Queensland.

The TGA says the infection was carried over from the water in the heater-cooler devices used to control the temperature of blood during cardiac surgery — water that is not supposed to come into contact with the patient.

The devices are used in operating theatres and intensive care units around the country.

They contain water tanks that provide temperature-controlled water to help moderate the blood throughout the surgery.

The TGA says it is now conducting a product safety review into all heater-cooler devices supplied in Australia.

Dr Paul Griffin from the Mater Research Institute – University of Queensland (MRI-UQ) has previously diagnosed and treated a 68-year-old woman with Mycobacterium chimaera, 13 months after she had open cardiothoracic surgery and says the infection can quickly turn deadly.

“Unfortunately, of the officially reported cases to date the chance of dying is still at around 50 per cent,” he told Starts at 60, adding that the risk of the contracting the infection are around one to two in 1000.

Symptoms of the infection are quite general, including, fevers, weight loss, night sweats and fatigue, so Dr Griffin says it’s important to speak to your GP or cardiologist if you’ve recently had heart surgery and are experiencing similar signs.

Antibiotics are used to treat Mycobacterium chimaera, with most patients undergoing long-term treatment to kill the infection.

“It is relatively difficult to treat so typically requires a combination of antibiotics for a long period of time — potentially even longer than two years,” he says.

“As the organism is related to cardiac surgery, in which devices such as prosthetic valves are implanted, generally, if it is safe to do so, revision of the cardiac surgery with replacement of infected material is also advised.”

The TGA says it will investigate all heater-cooler devices used in cardiac surgeries, including bypass and ECMO.

Have you or anyone you know had cardiac surgery? Have you heard of this infection before?