Man dies after saving kitten from skunk – and passes rabies to kidney recipient

The Guardian - World NewsCenter-LeftEN 3 min read 100% complete by Anna BettsDecember 9, 2025 at 05:15 PM

AI Summary

medium article 3 min

In December 2024, a Michigan man died of rabies after receiving a kidney transplant at an Ohio hospital from a donor in Idaho. The donor had been scratched by a skunk while protecting a kitten two months prior. He subsequently developed neurological symptoms and was declared brain dead, leading to organ donation. The kidney recipient developed rabies symptoms weeks after the transplant, and postmortem testing confirmed the disease. Investigation revealed the donor had a rabies strain consistent with a silver-haired bat, suggesting a bat infected the skunk, which then infected the donor. The CDC described this as an exceptionally rare event, only the fourth reported case of transplant-transmitted rabies in the U.S. since 1978.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 50% Idaho 60% Ohio 70% Michigan ×280%

Keywords

rabies 100% kidney transplant 90% organ donation 70% skunk 70% transmission chain 60% donor risk assessment interview 50% bat rabies 50% centers for disease control and prevention 50% infection 40%