Salmonella Sepsis Caused by a Platelet Transfusion from a Donor with a Pet Snake

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Abstract
Platelet transfusions carry a serious risk of bacterial sepsis. Platelets are stored at room temperature for no longer than 120 hours (five days), and a single bacterium of the type that typically contaminates platelets collected for transfusion can generate 105 organisms in 27 to 108 hours at 22°C.1 Estimates of the rate of bacterial contamination of platelet products range from 0.04 to 1.0 percent.2 The predominant bacterial contaminants are part of the normal flora of the donor's skin, although some are apparently the result of occult bacteremia in the donor.1-3