Widow sues pet store in Whitman man's death

Says rodent virus was from hamster

A Whitman woman whose husband died after receiving a transplanted liver infected with a rodent virus is suing PetSmart Inc., contending the chain should have warned customers that hamsters can carry the virus.

The federal lawsuit alleges Thomas Magee, 54, and two other organ recipients died after receiving transplants from a woman who had contracted a virus from a hamster she bought at a PetSmart store in Warwick, R.I.

Bruce Richardson, a spokesman for the Phoenix-based pet store chain, would not comment on the lawsuit yesterday, but said the virus is rare.

"It's not a common disease in pets. It's not something that's tested routinely by us or others," Richardson said.

The lawsuit, filed in US District Court last week, said a pathology report on Magee's autopsy lists the cause of death as lymphocytic choriomeningitis, a viral infection of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

The virus, which is found in house mice, hamsters, and other rodents, usually causes only flu-like symptoms in humans, but can be serious and even fatal in people with compromised immune systems.

In May 2005, the Rhode Island Health Department confirmed that three people died after receiving organ transplants that were infected with the rodent virus: Magee, a double-lung recipient from Massachusetts, and a kidney transplant recipient from Rhode Island.

In her lawsuit, Nancy Magee says PetSmart had a duty to warn its customers that hamsters could carry the virus and that people with weakened immune systems could die from it.

Magee, who filed the suit on behalf of herself and the couple's three children, declined to comment when reached at her home. She referred questions to her lawyer, Richard Bickelman, who did not immediately return a call yesterday seeking comment.

Thomas Magee had a liver transplant at Massachusetts General Hospital on April 10, 2005. The surgery was successful.

But the hospital postponed Magee's release after he developed a fever and high blood pressure. On May 5, Nancy Magee was told that her husband had a virus that was causing his fever and that he would need another liver and kidney transplant as a result, according to the lawsuit. Two days later, Thomas Magee died.