A Michigan man died of rabies after receiving a kidney from a donor who was infected while rescuing a kitten from a skunk, according to a CDC investigation.
A rare case of transplant-related rabies has resulted in the death of a patient in Michigan, following an organ donation from a donor who became infected while saving a kitten from a skunk. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the tragic details of this incident on Thursday.
The unnamed Michigan resident received a kidney from the Idaho donor in December 2024. Unfortunately, the recipient developed severe symptoms that led to hospitalization and invasive medical procedures. The patient experienced fever, tremors, difficulty swallowing, and hydrophobia, which is a fear of water. He succumbed to the disease 51 days after the transplant.
According to the CDC, the donor had contracted rabies from a skunk that exhibited aggressive behavior while he was attempting to rescue a kitten. The investigation revealed that the donor was scratched on the shin by the skunk six weeks prior to his death. The donor’s family reported that he did not believe he had been bitten during the encounter.
“In late October 2024, a skunk approached the donor as he held a kitten in an outbuilding on his rural property,” the CDC stated. “During an encounter that rendered the skunk unconscious, the donor sustained a shin scratch that bled, but he did not think he had been bitten.” The family attributed the skunk’s behavior to its predatory aggression towards the kitten.
Following the encounter, the donor began to experience troubling symptoms, including hallucinations, difficulty swallowing, trouble walking, and a stiff neck. Just two days later, he was found unresponsive at home after a suspected heart attack. Although he was revived at a hospital, he was declared brain-dead and subsequently removed from life support.
The donor’s organs were made available for transplantation after his family documented the skunk encounter in a donor risk assessment. However, health officials noted that the assessment did not include screening for rabies, which is considered rare in humans.
“In the United States, potential donors’ family members often provide information about a donor’s infectious disease risk factors, including animal exposures,” the CDC explained. “Rabies is excluded from routine donor pathogen testing because of its rarity in humans in the United States and the complexity of diagnostic testing.” Initially, the hospital staff treating the donor were unaware of the skunk scratch and attributed his symptoms to existing health conditions.
In addition to the kidney recipient, three other patients received corneal tissue from the same infected donor. These individuals underwent graft removal, received rabies treatment, and remained asymptomatic, according to the CDC.
Health officials have reached out to approximately 370 individuals who may have had contact with the donor. Of those, 46 were advised to undergo rabies post-exposure prophylaxis.
The death of the kidney recipient marks the fourth documented case of rabies transmission through organ transplantation in the United States since 1978. The CDC emphasizes that the risk of such infections remains extremely low.
Transplant teams are now advised to consult with public health officials if a potential donor has recent bites or scratches from animals known to carry rabies, particularly if the donor exhibits unexplained neurological symptoms. However, the CDC noted that “no standard guidance currently exists for addressing reported donor animal exposures by transplant teams.”
Each year, approximately 1.4 million Americans seek care for potential rabies exposure, but fewer than 10 die from the disease due to effective prevention measures, according to the agency. For further details, Fox News Digital reached out to the CDC.
According to Fox News, this incident highlights the need for increased awareness and protocols surrounding organ donation and potential rabies exposure.