US EditionIdaho Donor Dies of Rabies, Transmits Virus via Kidney Transplant, CDC Says
The CDC confirmed this as the fourth U.S. transplant-transmitted rabies case since 1978, involving 370 exposed people and multiple corneal graft removals as a precaution.
- On Dec. 4, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported an Idaho organ donor transmitted rabies via a transplanted kidney to a Michigan kidney recipient who died in January 2025.
- In October 2024, the Idaho donor was scratched by a skunk while defending a kitten and became confused with swallowing and walking problems about five weeks later, then was declared brain dead and removed from life support.
- CDC laboratory findings detected rabies virus RNA consistent with a silver-haired bat rabies virus variant in a donor kidney biopsy sample and one previously implanted corneal graft, concluding organ-derived transmission.
- Public-Health teams advised that three cornea recipients had grafts removed and 46 people received rabies PEP, after exposure to the Idaho donor; a planned fourth transplant was canceled.
- Interviews with the donor's family showed hospital staff were initially unaware of a skunk scratch exposure, and the CDC and state health departments urged early consultation since rabies is almost always fatal without prompt treatment.
23 Articles
23 Articles
The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported this week that a Michigan patient died in early 2025 after contracting rabies from a kidney transplant from an infected donor. This is the fourth case of transmission of rabies by transplant registered in the country since 1978, according to the agency.
Skunk scratch in Idaho leads to two rabies deaths including organ recipient in Michigan
A rabid skunk scratched an Idaho resident, setting an exceedingly rare, deadly chain reaction that claimed two lives — the original bite victim and his organ transplant recipient, federal officials said
Idaho donor dies of rabies, transmits virus via kidney transplant, CDC says
An Idaho man who died of rabies passed the virus to another man through a kidney transplant, marking the fourth known instance in the country in nearly half a century where rabies was transmitted from an organ donor to a recipient. Read more...
Idahoan dies of rabies, then transmits it in donated-kidney transplant
BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — An Idaho man who died of rabies passed the virus to another man through a kidney transplant, marking the fourth known instance in the country in nearly half a century where rabies was transmitted from an organ donor to a recipient. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday, Dec. […]
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