Organ transplant patient in Michigan dies from rabies
[March 28, 2025]
By DEVNA BOSE
A Michigan resident died earlier this year after contracting rabies from
an organ transplant, health officials said.
The patient had the organ transplanted at a hospital in Ohio in December
and died in January, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
spokesperson Lynn Sutfin said.
A subsequent investigation that also involved the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention and the Ohio Department of Health
determined the patient got rabies from the donated organ. Sutfin did not
specify which organ was transplanted.
Rabies is a deadly viral disease that can spread to humans through
contact with saliva or blood from infected animals. As rabies
progresses, it worsens in severity from flu-like symptoms to
hallucinations and difficulty swallowing. By the time symptoms appear,
the illness is almost always fatal.
According to the CDC, fewer than 10 people die annually from rabies in
the U.S. And it happening due to organ transplants is very rare, but not
unheard of; in 2013, a patient who received a kidney transplant died
from rabies.
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This undated electron microscope image provided by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention shows rabies virions, dark and
bullet-shaped, within an infected tissue sample. (F. A. Murphy/CDC
via AP, File)
The screening process for potential
organ donors in the U.S. includes questions about changes in donors’
mental states and testing for viruses and infections.
Sutfin stressed there is no threat to the general public.
“Health officials worked together to ensure that people, including
health care providers, who were in contact with the Michigan
individual were assessed for possible exposure to rabies,” she said,
adding that post-exposure care was provided where necessary.
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