Current Issue
Vol. 7, No. 1
Jan–Feb 2001 |
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Letter
Reply to Dr. Reyes
Read original letter,
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol7no1/reyes_letter.htm
Read original article, http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol5no3/weinberg.htm
To the Editor: The article noted that nearly 50 microbial genera contain strains that are more pathogenic in iron-loaded than in normal hosts. The
article proposed "routine screening of populations exposed to certain diseases" but not routine screening of populations at large. A few examples of
current interest include: atherosclerosis (Coxiella and Chlamydia), septicemia (Capnocytophaga), Whipple's disease (Tropheryma), tuberculosis
(Mycobacterium), gastric ulcers (Helicobacter), hepatitis (hepatitis C), and AIDS (opportunistic pathogens).
Of course, the tissue or cell localization of iron and the possible pathogen must be considered. For instance, Legionella multiplies in iron-loaded
alveolar macrophages but not in plasma. Thus, it would be expected that persons with untreated hemochromatosis with minimal macrophage iron but
with high plasma iron would not be at risk for Legionnaires' pneumonia.
Eugene D. Weinberg
Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
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