US Man Dies From Rabies After Receiving Infected Kidney

Health officials confirmed that the Michigan man contracted the deadly virus after receiving a kidney from a donor who had been infected by a rabid skunk in Idaho. According to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report, this marks only the fourth time since 1978 that rabies has been spread through an organ transplant in the United States.

The original donor, an Idaho man, encountered the skunk on his rural property in October 2024. “The skunk came right up to him and scratched his leg,” one investigator told local officials. “It seemed odd, but he didn’t think much of it at the time.”

About five weeks later, the man began showing alarming symptoms — hallucinations, muscle stiffness, and difficulty swallowing. He collapsed just days later and was pronounced dead at a local hospital, where doctors initially suspected a heart attack. His organs were then donated.

One of the recipients was a Michigan man who received the infected kidney. Within five weeks, he developed tremors, confusion, and sudden weakness. By the time he was hospitalized, he was suffering from fever, severe throat pain, and hydrophobia — a fear of water that often signals advanced rabies.

Doctors fought to keep him alive, but after a week in intensive care, he died. Testing later confirmed the source: the kidney donor’s rabies infection.

“This is one of the rarest and most heartbreaking forms of transmission we ever see,” said Dr. Elise Hammond, an infectious disease specialist with the CDC. “Rabies is almost universally fatal once symptoms appear, but it’s also completely preventable when treated early.”

Rabies infections through organ transplants are extraordinarily rare — only four confirmed cases in nearly five decades. However, experts say the tragedy highlights the limits of current donor screening. Rabies is not part of routine pre-transplant testing because of its rarity and the fact that it usually shows no signs until it’s too late.

“This case is a sobering reminder that wildlife exposures — even minor scratches — can have devastating consequences,” said Dr. Hammond. “It also shows why public awareness of rabies symptoms is so important.”

The CDC advises anyone scratched or bitten by wild animals, especially raccoons, bats, skunks, or foxes, to seek medical care immediately. Rabies can incubate silently for weeks before striking, and once it does, there is no cure.

Rabies kills an estimated 60,000 people worldwide each year, mostly in Asia and Africa. In the U.S., human cases are rare — usually fewer than five per year — thanks to vaccination programs and animal control efforts. The virus attacks the nervous system, leading to hallucinations, paralysis, and an agonizing death if untreated.

As the CDC continues investigating how the infection was missed during the donor screening process, transplant programs nationwide are being urged to reexamine their protocols.

“This tragedy may save future lives,” one Michigan health official said. “It’s a stark reminder that nature’s smallest threats can still find a way through our strongest defenses.”

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Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report, Dec. 2025