Lansing, MI – A Michigan resident has died from rabies after receiving a transplanted organ, marking a uncommon case of transmission via organ donation, state well being officers introduced Thursday.
The unidentified affected person underwent the transplant process in December at a hospital in Ohio and succumbed to the virus in January, in response to Lynn Sutfin, spokesperson for Michigan’s Division of Well being and Human Companies (MDHHS).
“A public well being investigation decided they contracted rabies via the transplanted organ,” Sutfin stated in an announcement.
Well being officers haven’t disclosed the recipient’s id or the kind of organ that was transplanted.
The Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the rabies prognosis via its Rabies Laboratory, and well being departments in each Michigan and Ohio collaborated intently on the investigation.
“Well being officers labored collectively to make sure that folks, together with well being care suppliers, who have been involved with the Michigan particular person have been assessed for attainable publicity to rabies,” Sutfin added. “Put up-exposure preventive care, if acceptable, has been offered.”
The affected person had been receiving care in Lucas County, Ohio, the place they in the end handed away.
Regardless of the tragic case, a multi-state public well being investigation decided that there isn’t a ongoing threat to most people, well being officers confirmed.
Rabies transmission via organ donation is extraordinarily uncommon, however it has occurred in earlier circumstances. Well being authorities proceed to overview organ screening procedures to forestall related incidents sooner or later.
