Michigan resident dies of rabies after undergoing organ transplant in Ohio: Officials
A Michigan resident has died of rabies after apparently undergoing an organ transplant, health officials said.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) told ABC News that the patient underwent an organ transplant at an Ohio hospital in December 2024.
The resident died in January 2025 and "a public health investigation determined they contracted rabies through the transplanted organ," MDHHS said.
The organ donor was not a Michigan or Ohio resident, according to MDHHS. The department said it is not providing any additional information about the resident or the donor.
MDHHS said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Rabies Laboratory made the rabies confirmation.
The department added that there is currently no threat to the general public and that anyone exposed to the Michigan patient, including health care providers, has been assessed for possible exposure to rabies. They were given post-exposure preventive care, if deemed necessary.
In a statement to ABC News on Friday, the CDC said the organ donor was exposed to a wild animal in Idaho five weeks before their death. The donor did not seek medical care and died later without "traditional rabies symptoms." Public health officials were not notified.
"In addition to the organ donor’s kidney, doctors implanted corneal grafts from the donor’s eyes into three different patients in three states," the CDC statement read. "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."
All of the cornel tissue recipients have received post-exposure prophylaxis shots to prevent rabies and are currently healthy, the CDC said.
The University of Toledo Medical Center (UTMC) in Toledo, Ohio, released a statement confirming the person who died was a patient at the hospital.
"A patient receiving care at The University of Toledo Medical Center died in January 2025 of rabies," the statement read. "That patient underwent a deceased donor organ transplant in late 2024 at UTMC. Person-to-person transmission of rabies is extremely rare, though it has been documented in a very small number of cases involving organ transplantation."
"UToledo Health is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all our patients," the statement continued. "The health system has worked closely with public health authorities and has conducted a thorough review of this case, which found all best practices and standard safety protocols were appropriately followed. Out of respect for the privacy of our patient and their family, we will not share any additional details at this time."
Rabies is a viral illness that is almost always fatal if medical care is not received before symptoms start, according to the CDC.
It is spread to people and pets primarily through the bites and scratches of an infected animal, the federal health agency said.
Those who have bitten or scratched but are unsure if they have been exposed to rabies should consult a health care provider immediately. Post-exposure prophylaxis for rabies in those who have not been vaccinated includes wound-washing, a dose of human rabies immune globulin -- a medication containing antibodies against the rabies virus -- and a four-dose rabies vaccine.
This treatment is highly effective if it's given as soon as possible after exposure, according to the CDC.
Once a person starts to develop rabies symptoms, which include fever, vomiting, difficulty swallowing, confusion and hallucination, it means the disease has progressed to the point where it is almost 100% fatal.
Fewer than 20 cases of humans surviving after "clinical rabies" have been documented, according to the CDC.
About 60,000 people receive medical care following rabies exposures each year but there are fewer than 10 annual human deaths, according to the CDC. This is largely due to rabies prevention efforts in the U.S., such as the vaccination of pets.
