vCJD can be transmitted via blood transfusion

 30.08.2008 06:43   b4uindia.com

After studying sheep for nine years, researchers at the University of Edinburgh have found evidence that vCJD can be transmitted through blood transfusion in humans.   The researchers say that their findings highlight the significance of precautions against vCJD transmission, such as the Government decision in 2004 to ban blood donations from anyone who had received a blood transfusion since 1980.   During the study, the researchers looked at BSE transmission between sheep through infected blood to quantify how vCJD - the human form of BSE - could be spread through transfusions.   They observed that the likelihood of BSE being transmitted between sheep through transfusion of infected sheep blood was 36 per cent, with rates of 43 per cent found for scrapie.   "It is apparent that the stage of disease incubation in infected donors played a large role in the likelihood of transmission. The longer that BSE or scrapie had been carried by donors, the greater the likelihood of the disease being transmitted with transfusions of infected blood," said lead researcher Fiona Houston, presently at the University of Glasgow.   BSE is one of a group of rare neurodegenerative disorders called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), which include scrapie and vCJD.   The researchers said that eight of the 22 sheep that received BSE infected blood showed evidence of infection, while nine out of 21 sheep receiving scrapie-infected blood developed the disease.   "The study shows that, for sheep infected with BSE or scrapie, transmission rates via blood transfusion can be high, particularly when donors are in the later stages of infection. This suggests that blood transfusion represents an efficient route of transmission for these diseases and justifies the current control measures put in place to safeguard human blood supplies,” Houston said.   The study has been published in the journal Blood. (ANI)

India Health & Beauty

World’s first laser surgery to destroy brain tumour on conscious patient

French surgeons have successfully used keyhole laser surgery to destroy a brain tumour on a consciou...

Magnesium sulfate may cut cerebral palsy risk in preemies

Premature babies are 50 pct less likely to develop cerebral palsy if their mothers are given magnesi...

Healthy people are happy but happy people are even healthier

While it is said that healthy people are happy, a new study suggests that people who’re joyful...

Gene test that can help prevent heart disease

A genetic test has been developed which can help take action to prevent heart disease, say experts. ...

Killing mosquitoes without raising a stink just became a reality

Scientists at the University of California, Davis have developed an odourless chemical that can lure...

Men and women respond differently to antidepressants

Women with depression are more likely than men to benefit from antidepressant drug citalopram (Celex...

NASA’s “E Nose” may soon sniff out cancer

“E Nose”, a device developed by NASA to detect low-level leaks of ammonia in shuttles, m...

Influenza shots do not lower death risk

Influenza shots might protect against flu but it does not lower the overall mortality risk in the el...

Gene signature in breast cancer cells can predict treatment prognosis

Researchers from Baylor College of Medicine have revealed that genetic response to insulin-like gro...

The ten worst world health inequalities

In India, 140 of every 1000 children born to the poorest households die before the age of five - and...