More NEJM Genomics: High-Throughput Sequencing Utilized to Identify a New Arenavirus in Transplant-Associated Infections

In a new paper by Gustavo Palacios and colleagues published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the 454 Life Sciences (Roche) high-throughput sequencing platform was utilized to investigate the cause of a fatal febrile illness in three patients who died about a month after receiving transplanted organs from the same donor (abstract here).  This approach allowed the identification of a new arenavirus transmitted through solid-organ transplantation that is likely responsible for the fatal infections in these transplant recipients.  An accompanying editorial (available to subscribers only) points out that the application of high-throughput sequencing technologies may transform the clinical microbiology lab.  Dr. Richard Whitley suggests several clinical conditions caused by infectious diseases that may be particularly amenable to a high-throughput sequencing diagnostic approach: particularly central nervous system encephalitis and acute respiratory tract infections.