A man in the US state of Maryland has died of rabies, which he contracted from an infected kidney transplant more than a year ago, health officials say. The early March death has led officials to treat three other patients who received organs from the same donor.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) say doctors did not suspect rabies as the cause of death in the donor and did not test for it. Typically no more than three cases of rabies are diagnosed in the US yearly.
The donor died of raccoon rabies in Florida in 2011 after moving there from North Carolina.
The recipients of the donor’s heart, liver and other kidney are receiving anti-rabies vaccines, the CDC said in a news release on Friday. They live in Illinois, Georgia and Florida.
“The organ transplantation occurred more than a year before the recipient developed symptoms and died of rabies,” the CDC said, adding such an incubation period is much longer than usual but not unheard of.
I – Word Understanding
Contracted – decrease in size, number, or range
Transplant – move or transfer (something) to another place or situation
Donor – a person who provides blood for transfusion, semen for insemination, or an organ or tissue for transplantation
Rabies – a viral disease of dogs and other mammals
Diagnosed – Identify the nature of the medical condition
Recipients – A person or thing that receives
Vaccines – A substance used to stimulate the production of antibodies and provide immunity against one or several diseases
Symptoms – A sign of the existence of something
II – Have your say
1.Most religions like the Roman Catholic Church are in favour of organ donation as acts of charity and as a means of saving a life.
2.A few groups disfavour organ transplantation or donation; notably, this include Shinto.
