A normally life-saving procedure has ended in a incredibly rare kind of death.
Officials say that no one else is at risk of rabies from the tainted procedure.
The diagnosis was confirmed by sending tissue to the CDC.
A colorized transmission electron micrograph of rabies virus particles (in green) replicating inside cells.© NIAID
Rabiesis a virus that can infect the brain and spinal cord of most any mammal.
Post-exposure prophylaxis is a combination of the rabies vaccine and donated antibodies.
But Americans do still sometimes catch rabies,usually from batsor other infected wildlife.
Even rarer is a fatal case of rabies transmitted via transplantation.
In 2004, a cluster of four deaths in Texas wastraced backto a single decreased donor.
In other words, this comes off as an extremely rare, but nonetheless tragic freak occurrence.
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