Michigan resident dies from rabies after receiving transplanted kidney carrying the virus

In 'extremely rare' case, Michigan resident dies from rabies after receiving transplanted kidney carrying the virus.

A Michigan resident has died from rabies following a kidney transplant at a hospital in Ohio. Investigations show that the donor had the virus when they died.

In an 'extremely rare' case, a person has died from rabies after undergoing an organ transplant in an Ohio hospital. The unnamed Michigan resident received the kidney transplant at the University of Toledo Medical Center (UTMC) in Ohio, in December last year, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) spokesperson Lynn Sutfin said in a statement, the AP reports. They died in January 2025. This marks the first human case of rabies in Michigan since 2009. "Person-to-person transmission of rabies is extremely rare, though it has been documented in a very small number of cases involving organ transplantation," a statement from UTMC reads, as reported by local news WTOL 11.

Rabies is a deadly disease caused by the rabies virus that affects the central nervous system of mammals, including humans. The virus is typically transmitted through the saliva of an infected animal via bites and open wounds, such as scratches. Rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms appear. The time it takes from exposure to symptoms appearing varies from weeks to months, but symptoms usually occur sooner when the wound is closer to the brain. Symptoms initially resemble the flu (fever, headache, weakness) but progress to neurological issues such as confusion, hallucinations, paralysis, hydrophobia (fear of water), and eventually coma and death. Fewer than 20 people have ever survived rabies after symptoms presented, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Around 10 people die from rabies in the U.S. each year, the CDC estimates.

According to the CDC, the vast majority of U.S. rabies cases are a result of exposure to bats, raccoons, skunks and foxes. In the U.S., 7 out of 10 people who die from rabies are infected by bats, while worldwide, domestic dogs cause over 95% of the estimated 70,000 annual human rabies deaths. The Michigan resident's rabies was confirmed by the CDC Rabies Laboratory. In a statement, the CDC said that the organ donor was exposed to rabies from a wild animal in Idaho five weeks before they died and their organ was transplanted, ABC News reports. The donor had not died with "traditional rabies symptoms," and they had not sought out medical help or notified public health officials after their exposure to the animal.

After an animal bite, rabies can be prevented with post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). This includes immediately washing the wound with soap and water for at least 15 minutes, and receiving four or five doses of the rabies vaccine over the course of 14 days after the bite. The vaccine helps the immune system produce antibodies against the rabies virus. If the person has never been vaccinated against rabies, they will also receive rabies immune globulin (RIG) on the day of the bite, which provides immediate passive immunity while the vaccine triggers the body's own immune response. About 800,000 people receive rabies-related medical care from local or state health departments around the U.S. every year.

https://www.livescience.com/health/surgery/in-extremely-rare-case-michigan-resident-dies-from-rabies-after-receiving-transplanted-kidney-carrying-the-virus


My last blacksmith had to go through the whole rabies regimen. He was driving down the road, and somehow, a bat flew inside his truck. He wasn't bit, but still had to go through the shots.