Severe combined immunodeficiency syndrome, tissue transplant, leukaemia, and Q fever

Abstract

A child born with severe combined immunodeficiency, who was immunoreconstituted by a fetal liver and thymus transplant, developed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in the donor cell line. During remission she contracted acute Q fever, which gave rise to unexpected complications. Early treatment of the Q fever might have altered the subsequent events and prevented her death.