A Michigan man has died from rabies after contracting it during an organ transplant.
NBC News reports that the unidentified man had a kidney transplant procedure in December and died back in January, but health officials in Michigan have just confirmed what happened. The man was being treated in Lucas County, OH, when he contracted the disease and passed away.
“A public health investigation determined they contracted rabies through the transplanted organ,” said Lynn Sutfin, a spokesperson for the state's Department of Health and Human Services, in a statement.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the donor who provided the infected organ also provided corneal grafts for three patients in different states.
“Based on the concerning symptoms of the kidney recipient who died, CDC worked with Missouri health officials to intercept a fourth corneal graft before it could be implanted into a Missouri resident — even before rabies was confirmed in the donor,” the CDC said. “All corneal tissue recipients have gotten post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) shots to prevent rabies and are currently healthy.”
The donor reportedly didn’t show any symptoms traditionally associated with rabies. The infection wasn’t discovered until the recipient’s illness was found. Following that, the public health officials discovered that the donor had been exposed to a wild animal (potentially a skunk) in Idaho a little over a month before death.
Rabies is extremely deadly in humans if it isn’t treated before symptoms start. Each year, 60,000 people are treated for possible exposure to rabies.
