CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) reports rabies in three transplant recipients

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed the first reported cases of rabies transmission through solid organ transplantation. Confirmation came from laboratory testing of autopsy specimens after the deaths of three persons who had received organ transplants from the same donor. The organ donor, an Arkansas resident, had undergone routine donor eligibility screening and testing, CDC said. Rabies testing is not part of the routine screening process. Lungs, kidneys, and liver were recovered and later transplanted into four recipients, one of whom (the lung transplant patient) died during transplant surgery. No other organs or tissues were recovered from the donor.