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U.S. Says New Test Spots West Nile in Blood

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ATLANTA (Reuters) – Amid signs that the United States is facing another record West Nile outbreak this summer, federal health officials reported on Thursday promising results from a trial run of new tests designed to protect the nation’s blood supply from the deadly mosquito-borne virus.

ATLANTA (Reuters) – Amid signs that the United States is facing another record West Nile outbreak this summer, federal health officials reported on Thursday promising results from a trial run of new tests designed to protect the nation’s blood supply from the deadly mosquito-borne virus.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the way for development of the tests last year after almost two dozen people contracted West Nile from infected blood. It was the first time that the virus had been linked to transfusions.West Nile has infected 393 people, including nine who have died, in the United States this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has tracked the virus since it first surfaced in the Americas in 1999.The number of cases has tripled in the past week and is expected to continue growing as the virus hits its peak in the next month.Preventing infected people from giving blood and stopping infected blood from circulating are key parts of the U.S. effort to halt the spread of West Nile, especially since most people who get the virus never develop symptoms.That was true of the majority of blood donors who were found to be carrying the virus when the new West Nile blood tests were used between late June and early August, according to the CDC.A total of 163 of the estimated one million blood samples screened during the period were repeatedly positive for West Nile. The screened donations represented about 95 percent of all the blood collected during the period.”We have interdicted many samples,” Dr. Hira Nakhasi, the FDA’s chief of transfusion-spread disease, told reporters in a conference call.Although federal officials could not guarantee on Thursday that the blood supply was totally safe from West Nile, they urged Americans not to be spooked by exaggerated fears of the disease.”For those individuals who need a blood transfusion, the benefits strongly outweigh the risks and … donating blood carries no risk of acquiring West Nile virus,” Nakhasi said.(Source: Reuters, Thu August 14, 2003 03:51 PM ET, By Paul Simao)


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Dates

Posted On: 15 August, 2003
Modified On: 5 December, 2013


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