Since 1978, four donors have passed rabies through donated organs<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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MONDAY, Dec. 8, 2025 (HealthDay News) \u2014 A rare case of rabies linked to an organ transplant has resulted in two deaths, federal health officials announced.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a> (CDC) reported that a man in Idaho became infected with rabies after a skunk scratched his leg in October 2024.<\/p>\n About five weeks later, he developed serious symptoms, including confusion, trouble swallowing and difficulty walking. He later collapsed and died at a hospital.<\/p>\n His organs were donated, including his left kidney, which went to a patient in Michigan.<\/p>\n About five weeks after the transplant, the kidney recipient began experiencing tremors, weakness, confusion and urinary incontinence<\/a>.<\/p>\n He later developed fever, difficulty swallowing and a fear of drinking water, which is a characteristic symptom of rabies.<\/p>\n After a week in the hospital, he also died.<\/p>\n Testing showed both men had the same bat-linked strain of rabies, meaning the virus was likely transmitted through the transplant.<\/p>\n Rabies transmission through donated organs is extremely rare. Since 1978, four organ donors have spread rabies to 13 recipients, according to the CDC.<\/p>\n Of those people, six survived after treatment, while seven died.<\/p>\n Doctors noted that organ donors are not routinely screened for rabies, because human infections are rare and testing is complex.<\/p>\n “This is an exceptionally rare event,” Dr. Lara Danziger-Isakov<\/a>, a board member of the American Society of Transplantation, told The New York Times<\/em>. “Overall, the risk is exceptionally small.”<\/p>\n More testing revealed the donor\u2019s other kidney, which was not transplanted, also contained the virus.<\/p>\n What’s more, three other patients received grafts from the donor’s corneas. Their grafts were removed as a precaution as one of the corneas tested positive for rabies.<\/p>\n All three recipients are receiving preventive treatment.<\/p>\n Rabies in humans is rare in the United States, with fewer than 10 deaths each year, but more than 3,500 animals test positive yearly.<\/p>\n The case follows a record year for organ donation.<\/p>\n In 2024, the U.S. performed 48,149 transplants from 24,018 donors, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network<\/a>.<\/p>\n More information<\/strong><\/p>\n The Cleveland Clinic has more on how the organ donation and transplantation process works<\/a>.<\/p>\n