Activists warn that tens of thousands of patients with heart surgery are said to be at risk of suffering a deadly insect from eating blood
- The NHS contacted 47,000 patients who had heart valve operations between 2013 and 2016
- M.chimaera can remain in the body for up to 13 years, longer than previously thought
- The Health Security Agency said there were 33 deaths out of 49 confirmed cases
- Chief coroner Alison Hewitt said the spread is “higher” than the official figure of 1 in 5,000
By Martin Halle and Stephen Adams for The Mail on Sunday
Posted: 01:33, 3 July 2022 | Updated: 1:33, July 3, 2022
Tens of thousands of patients who have had heart valve operations since 2005 should be warned they run the risk of a life-threatening insect from eating blood, it was warned last night.
Five years ago, The Mail on Sunday revealed how the NHS was about to contact 47,000 patients who had heart valve operations between 2013 and 2016, after concerns arose over the contaminated operating room equipment.
Survivors of Mycobacterium quimaera infection, the families of the victims and their lawyers are now calling for the alert to be extended to cover people operated on years earlier.
It follows disturbing new evidence that the germ can remain dormant in the body for much longer than previously thought, up to 13 years and possibly longer. Detected soon enough after M.chimaera becomes “invasive,” it can be successfully treated with antibiotics.
Tens of thousands of patients who have had heart valve operations since 2005 should be alerted to the risk of a life-threatening mistake in eating blood.
But if left to occur, the infection can spread, causing deep tissue abscesses and causing fatal complications.
Up to 250,000 people have undergone heart surgery in Britain in which a potentially contaminated type of “heater-cooler unit” (HCU) was used.
HCUs are needed to regulate blood temperature as it passes out of the body to be pumped with an artificial heart, while the organ temporarily stops. But it is believed that a common type of HCU, the Sorin 3T manufactured by the LivaNova company, was prone to colonization of M.chimaera if it was not completely sterilized.
Last night, Freeths Solicitors’ attorney Paul Balen, who has acted for many victims, said, “All patients who have undergone open-heart surgery using HCU LivaNova since 2005 should be warned. of this danger “.
Chief coroner Alison Hewitt (pictured) wrote a report warning that “the true incidence of [invasive M.chimaera] It is very likely that the infection is more than 1 in 5,000
In January, the UK Health Safety Agency (UKHSA) said that “the first surgery involved was performed in 2006.” He claims that there have now been 33 deaths out of 49 confirmed cases, compared to the 15 deaths out of 26 confirmed cases when this document first highlighted the scandal.
But there is concern that these figures seriously underestimate the true scale of the problem. Last year, London City’s chief forensic scientist Alison Hewitt wrote a report warning that “the true incidence of”. [invasive M.chimaera] It is very likely that the infection is higher than the official estimate of one in 5,000 surgeries.
Public Health England rejected his concerns and rejected his request for an in-depth investigation. However, the agency, since it was replaced by UKHSA, did not say how it knew no case was lost. A spokeswoman for NHS England said it would review the coronal findings and “take any other necessary action”.
LivaNova said: “The question of what caused an infection that appears long after surgery can be complicated and the connection to an aspect of the surgical environment can be uncertain.”