Overview
- A Michigan kidney recipient died weeks after a December 2024 transplant, and CDC testing of archived donor tissue detected rabies virus RNA, confirming transmission through the organ.
- The Idaho donor had been scratched by a skunk weeks before collapsing and later showed signs consistent with rabies that were not recognized before organ recovery.
- Three patients who received the donor’s corneal grafts had them removed and were given post-exposure prophylaxis, with one cornea testing positive and no illnesses reported among the recipients.
- Public-health teams evaluated 357 potential contacts tied to the donor and recipient and recommended rabies post-exposure prophylaxis for 46 people.
- Rabies screening is not routinely performed in organ donors due to rarity and testing complexity, and this is only the fourth documented U.S. instance of rabies transmission via transplanted organs since 1978.