Michigan patients die after contracting rabies via transplanted organs

A Michigan resident who received the transplant in December died after contracting new organ rabies, the state health department said Wednesday.

“A public health investigation determined that he had rabies through the transplanted organ,” Lynn Satfin, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement.

The patient was transplanted at an Ohio hospital in December and died in January, the department said. The statement did not include information regarding the recipient’s identity or the type of organ transplanted. The donor said he was not a resident of Michigan or Ohio.

Sutfin said the Michigan and Ohio health departments “worked closely” with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for investigating patient deaths. The CDC’s Rabies Institute confirmed the diagnosis.

“Health officials worked together to ensure that people, including healthcare providers who were in contact with individuals in Michigan, assessed the likelihood of exposure to rabies,” the statement added. “Post-exposure preventive care is provided when necessary.”

The department refused to provide additional information to NBC News. The Ohio Department of Health and CDC did not respond to requests for comment.

Rabies can spread to humans when contacted with the saliva and blood of infected animals, such as bats, raccoons, skunks, and stray dogs. It is not always clear that a person has rabies, as the initial symptoms are similar to those of the flu, such as fever, headache, and nausea. As the disease progresses, patients experience difficulty swallowing, excessive salivation, and hallucinations.

Rabies is fatal if a person does not seek medical care immediately after being injured or bitten by a potentially infected animal. Before 1960, hundreds of people died each year, but according to the CDC, the number of people per year has been shrinking to less than 10 in recent years.

Potential organ donors in the US are being screened for viruses, bacteria and other infectious diseases. However, rabies is not usually among these tests. This is because testing for this takes too long and infections are extremely rare.

A patient who received a kidney transplant in 2013 also died after contracting rabies through organs. The donor was found to have died of rabies in Florida, but the cause of death was only discovered after an investigation into the recipient’s death. Three other patients also received organs from donors.

In 2004, three transplant recipients died of rabies after receiving organs from an infected donor in Arkansas.