An investigation into the case of a Michigan man who contracted rabies after an organ transplant has provided more details on how the organ donor became infected – and who else was exposed. 

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report issued Dec. 4 reviewed the circumstances of the case that had become public in March. They found that the organ donor had a previously undiagnosed case of rabies – a rare situation that has been confirmed only four times since 1978. Initial testing of the donor had not detected the virus, the report said.

The Michigan man was the only organ recipient from this case who has died.  

Three other recipients were given preventative treatment and have so far shown no symptoms, the report said. 

The CDC explains that rabies is a viral disease that is deadly to humans if medical care is not received before symptoms start. It is usually spread to humans and pets through bites or scratches from an infected animal. By the time physical symptoms begin, the illness is nearly always fatal. 

Fewer than 10 human deaths a year happen across the U.S. because of rabies. 

The Michigan man received a left kidney transplant in December 2024 during procedures at a hospital in Lucas County, Ohio, health officials said. About five weeks later, he had symptoms that included tremors, weakness and confusion. The man was hospitalized and died in January. 

During his time at the hospital, the report said, clinicians contacted both the CDC and the Ohio Department of Health because the man's symptoms were similar to those of rabies. Postmortem testing did find rabies virus RNA in the man. 

Michigan health officials interviewed his family and found no evidence that he had been exposed to animals with rabies. 

At that point, the CDC began working with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare on the possibility that the organ donor was his infection source. Further research into the donor's medical history learned that the donor had received a scratch from a skunk in October 2024.

The donor died in early December. 

One kidney, both corneas, heart and lungs were all recovered as organ transplant possibilities, the CDC said. The kidney went to the Ohio man. The heart and lungs were used for medical training in Maryland and did not go to patients. The recovered corneas were prepared as ocular grafts – three patients, one each in California, Idaho and New Mexico – received those. The fourth corneal graft planned for a Missouri patient was canceled as the rabies investigation intensified. 

The cornea recipients received medical treatment that included removing the grafts, the CDC said. All three have remained asymptomatic. 

No one else is believed to have been exposed to the presumed rabid skunk, the CDC said. 

Although the man's death happened in Ohio, it is considered a Michigan human rabies case as he was a resident of Michigan. It was the state's first human case of rabies since 2009. 

The CDC said this was the fourth reported case of transplant-related rabies in humans since 1978. The agency said there is no current guidance for medical teams on addressing possible donor exposures to rabid animals, and suggests that further review take place when a bite or scratch that might result in exposure has happened in the past year. 

The above video originally aired on March 26, 2025.