Health
Blood screening stymies spread of West Nile virus
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted March 22, 2004
The screening of blood for West Nile virus by blood banks has likely prevented more than 1,000 transfusion-related infections during the second half of 2003, say researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"This is an amazing success story," said Susan Montgomery, DVM, a CDC researcher who presented the finding at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Disease on March 1. "The entire blood community went from the identification of a problem in the blood supply to the development and implementation of a solution nationwide within a year."
In 2002, health authorities confirmed 23 cases of West Nile virus infection associated with blood transfusions. It is estimated that as many as 500 people with high levels of virus in their blood donated blood that year. To reduce the risk of transfusion transmission, U.S. blood banks began screening donations for West Nile virus in July 2003.
Over a six-month period, from late June to December 2003, nearly 6 million blood donations were screened for the virus. Over 1,000 donations tested positive for the virus and were removed from the blood supply.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/03/22/hlbf0322.htm.
