U.S. patient dies from rabies after organ transplant. Can this happen here?
Global News
A Michigan patient died of rabies earlier this year after contracting the virus through an organ transplant, health officials said.
A Michigan patient died of rabies earlier this year after contracting the virus through an organ transplant, health officials said.
The transplant took place at an Ohio hospital in December 2024, and the patient passed away in January, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) rabies laboratory confirmed the rabies diagnosis, and while the donor wasn’t from Michigan or Ohio, no other information is being released about them or the recipient.
“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,” a spokesperson for the Michigan health department told Global News in a Thursday email.
While organ screening is done for common diseases like HIV, hepatitis B and C and syphilis, they are not routinely tested for rabies before transplantation, according to the CDC.
Since rabies is extremely rare, standard donor screening prioritizes more common infections and conditions that could impact transplant recipients.
“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,” the CDC stated.
Testing for disease in organs is performed at the provincial program level following Canadian standards and regulations.
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