MI Resident Dies Of Rabies After Organ Transplant: MDHHS

MICHIGAN — A Michigan resident died of rabies after receiving an organ transplant earlier this year, Lynn Sutfin, a spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services told Patch Thursday.

Sutfin said the patient underwent an organ transplant at an Ohio hospital in December 2024.

The person then died in January 2025 and officials determined they contracted rabies through the transplanted organ, Sutfin said.

Sutfin said the organ donor was not a Michigan or Ohio resident. She said the department is not releasing any additional information about the resident or the donor.

Sutfin said 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," Sutfin said. "Post exposure preventive care, if appropriate, has been provided."

Rabies is a fatal but preventable viral disease. It typically spreads to people and pets if they are bitten or scratched by a rabid animal, usually by raccoons, skunks, bats and foxes.

The virus infects the central nervous system, resulting in disease within the brain and then death. If a person is exposed to rabies, the disease can be prevented with a series of shots before symptoms occur.

Fewer than 10 people in the U.S. die from rabies each year, according to the CDC.

Rabies deaths due to organ transplants are very rare, but it has happened before, the Associated Press reported. According to the CDC, in 2013, a patient in Maryland died from rabies more than a year after receiving a kidney transplant. "This period is much longer than the typical rabies incubation period of 1 to 3 months, but is consistent with prior case reports of long incubation periods," the CDC said.

The donor in that case had died in 2011, and because rabies was not suspected as a cause, testing for the virus was not performed. Three other people who received donated organs from the same recipient were identified and received anti-rabies shots, the CDC said.

"All potential organ donors in the United States are screened and tested to identify if the donor might present an infectious risk," the CDC said in 2013, adding that there are typically only one to three human cases of rabies in the U.S. every year. "Donor eligibility is determined through a series of questions posed to family and close contacts, a physical examination, and infectious disease testing, including HIV and hepatitis ... If rabies is not clinically suspected, laboratory testing for rabies is not routinely performed, as it is difficult for doctors to confirm results in the short window of time they have to keep the organs viable for the recipient."