(by Giovanni D'Agata) The news of the investigations following the death of some patients in Veneto due to the complications deriving from the bacterium Mycobacterium chimaera which would contaminate the heart-lung machines used in operations involving the heart, is practically announced. To underline it the "Rights Window", Which already in July 2017 had relaunched an alert in Italy regarding the dangers inherent in some of these machines that would already be contaminated in the manufacturing process, proving to be, in all likelihood, the main source of infections that also occur in months or years after open heart surgery. These hypotheses had been supported by an international study published by “The Lancet Infectious Diseases” which we had deemed useful to bring to the attention of the public in unsuspected times and before the investigation started in Vicenza. Mycobacterium chimaera, in fact, is widespread in nature and mainly present in drinking water. It is basically harmless, but during open heart operations, it is transmitted through contaminated technical devices for extracorporeal circulation (CEC), which temporarily replace cardio-pulmonary functions and regulate blood temperature during surgery. Although infections with this mycobacterium are quite rare (one in 10.000 patients), scientists had already warned not to let their guard down. As early as 2013, researchers from Zurich had identified Mycobacterium chimaera infection, and prevention measures had been strengthened. Until now, however, it was not known how the pathogen got into the so-called hypothermia devices. The answer came from an international team that analyzed 250 blood samples from 21 patients who had had a postoperative infection in Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States. The researchers then compared the genetic sequences of the germs present in the sick with those of the bacteria found in the machinery and air of operating rooms, as well as in the manufacturing centers of the same equipment. The news of a few hours ago, for Giovanni D'Agata only confirms what has already been made known to the scientific community, thereby asking the legitimate question of how many deaths could have been avoided if we had intervened earlier. Today all that remains is to act in the competent fora to protect all those victims and their families who have suffered serious losses which, in all probability and in many cases, could have been avoided.
