Michigan patient dies after contracting rabies through transplanted kidney, prompting preventive shots for donor's other recipients

A Michigan resident who received a kidney transplant died after getting infected with rabies from the organ. The same donor provided corneal grafts for three patients, the CDC said.

A Michigan resident who received a transplant in December died after having been infected with rabies from the new organ, the state health department said Wednesday.

“A public health investigation determined they contracted rabies through the transplanted organ,” Lynn Sutfin, a spokesperson for the state's Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement.

A spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the same donor also provided corneal grafts for three patients in different states.

“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 — even before rabies was confirmed in the donor,” the CDC said. “All corneal tissue recipients have gotten post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) shots to prevent rabies and are currently healthy.”

The Michigan patient died in January, after receiving a kidney transplant at a hospital in Ohio, the CDC said.