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A Michigan resident died of rabies contracted from an organ they were donated, state health officials said Thursday.
The unidentified patient died in January, a month after getting the transplant at a hospital in Ohio, Lynn Sutfin, a spokesperson for Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services told The Post on Thursday.
“A public health investigation determined they contracted rabies through the transplanted organ,” Sutfin said in a statement.
Health officials have not identified the recipient or said what type of organ transplant they received.
The health departments in both Michigan and Ohio “worked closely” together with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the investigation into the patient’s death, Sutfin told the outlet.
The diagnosis was also confirmed by the CDC’s Rabies Laboratory.
“Health officials worked together to ensure that people, including health care providers, who were in contact with the Michigan individual were assessed for possible exposure to rabies,” Sutfin said in a statement. “Post-exposure preventive care, if appropriate, has been provided.”
The patient received care in Lucas County, Ohio, which is where they died.
A multi-state public health investigation found no risk to the general public.