Possible dialysis-related west nile virus transmission--Georgia, 2003.

In October 2003, the Georgia Division of Public Health (DPH) was notified of two patients from the same county with confirmed West Nile virus (WNV) disease who had received hemodialysis on the same day and on the same dialysis machine. The two dialysis patients (patients A and C) had the only confirmed cases of human WNV disease reported in their county in 2003. Review of the dialysis center's records indicated that another patient (patient B) had received dialysis on the same machine between these two patients on the same day. This report summarizes results of the epidemiologic investigation, which suggested that WNV might have been transmitted at the dialysis center. Hemodialysis centers should adhere strictly to established infection-control procedures to avoid WNV transmission through dialysis.