There's no need to seek emergency treatment, as these symptoms can have many different causes and are very unlikely to be due to a Mycobacterium chimaera infection. See a GP if you experience any of these symptoms. pain, redness, warmth or pus around where you had your operation.waking up with bed sheets showing signs of sweating (night sweats).cough or increasing shortness of breath.a high temperature including feeling hot and shivery.Symptoms of Mycobacterium chimaera infection When you next visit a GP, make sure they know you've had open heart surgery and ask them to check that your medical record includes this information.Īlso make sure you're aware of the symptoms of a Mycobacterium chimaera infection and see a GP if you develop any of these. The symptoms can take a long time (possibly several years) to appear and you cannot be tested to see if you will develop symptoms in the future. If you're feeling well, you do not need to do anything straight away.

What to do if you're at risk of the infection If you're at a higher risk of the infection, you will have received a letter from your hospital by 31 March 2017 explaining this. The risk is also low if you had heart valve surgery before January 2013. The risk is lower for people who've had other types of open heart surgery – including a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) or a heart or lung transplant. About 1 person in every 5,000 who has this type surgery will develop the infection. People most at risk are those who've had heart valve surgery since January 2013. The risk of infection has been linked to a device used to heat and cool the blood during some types of heart surgery. Who could be at risk of Mycobacterium chimaera infectionĪnyone who has had open heart surgery since January 2013 could be at risk, including people who had their operation outside the UK. This is a very rare but potentially serious infection and people can die if they're not treated, so it's important to know the symptoms and see a GP if you feel unwell. If you or your child have had open heart surgery or a heart or lung transplant since January 2013, there's a small risk that you may have been infected with bacteria called Mycobacterium chimaera.

Operation chimera