Next Stage Of Notification Exercise To Reduce Risk Of Variant CJD Transmission Begins, UK

Precautionary measures to reduce the possible risk of transmitting
vCJD through surgical procedures are to be extended. Around 50 people
who have received blood transfusions will be traced and notified of
their potential exposure to vCJD.


This follows an announcement in July 2005, when around 100 blood
donors were told they may have a greater chance of carrying the vCJD
agent, compared with the general population. Blood from these donors
had been given to three people who later developed vCJD and experts
advised that it was not possible to exclude the donated blood as a
possible source of that infection.


The CJD Incidents Panel has now advised that certain other patients
who received blood from some of these donors should also be
contacted, so that additional precautions can be taken against the
possibility of further transmission.


The UK blood services are contacting hospitals where the donated
blood was issued, requesting their help in identifying patients
involved. This process is likely to take a number of months to
complete. Patients will be informed on a case by case basis and will
be offered advice and support. The notification of patients and their
general practitioners is being co-ordinated by the blood services
together with the health protection agencies


The likelihood of a person who may be infected with vCJD going on to
develop symptoms of the disease is uncertain. It is possible that an
infected person may never develop symptoms, but until a reliable
blood screening test becomes available, it is sensible to proceed on
a precautionary basis to protect public health.


1. There is currently no validated diagnostic test that can be used
before the onset of clinical symptoms to diagnose whether someone has
contracted vCJD. Since 1995, the Department has contributed over ?30
million into CJD research, including research for the development of
an effective test.


2. Individuals identified as 'at risk of vCJD for public health
purposes' are advised not to donate blood, organs or tissues; to tell
health professionals in charge of their care whenever they are going
to have surgery or invasive medical procedures, of their status and
to tell their family in case they require emergency surgery.


3. People who have themselves received a transfusion of whole blood
components since January 1980 have been excluded from donating blood
since 2004. This is one of a number of measures taken to improve the
safety of blood in relation to vCJD.


4. We have also invested ?200 million in improving decontamination
standards for surgical instruments and an extra ?6.6 million into
research of new decontamination technologies that are more effective
against the CJD agent.


5. About 3 million units of blood are transfused to over half a
million patients in the NHS each year. Most patients receive more
than one transfusion.


6. The report of the first possible case of transmission of vCJD by
blood transfusion was in December 2003.


7. For some of the 100 or so donors who were notified in July 2005,
the implied risk of vCJD infection was estimated to be clearly above
1%. 1% is the threshold generally used by the CJD Incidents Panel in
recommending whether individuals should be informed, so that
additional precautions can be taken against further transmission.
The measures being taken today will identify the other recipients of
blood from this subset of donors, on the basis that these recipients
are also liable to have a greater than 1% risk of vCJD infection.


UK DEPT OF HEALTH