Blood Products

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Headline: MUMS-TO-BE RISK MAD COW DISEASE FROM BLOOD PRODUCT

Wire Service: PA (PA News)

Date: Thu, Nov 12, 1998

Copyright 1998 PA News. Copying, storing, redistribution, retransmission,

publication, transfer or commerical exploitation of this information is

expressly forbidden.

By Cahal Milmo and Hickman, PA News

Thousands of pregnant women face the " possibility " of contracting mad

cow disease until new supplies of a rare blood product are sourced from

abroad, Health Secretary Dobson told MPs today.

In a Commons statement, he said non-UK supplies of an antibody used to

prevent birth defects " should be available in a few months " .

His statement came after concern from a scientist that up to 80,000

British mothers-to-be a year were being put at risk by the use of UK Anti D

immunoglobulin to protect against haemolytic disease, which Mr Dobson

warned could cause fatalities, cerebral palsy or deafness.

Microbiologist Dealler said pregnant women are being exposed to

potential transmission of new variant CJD, the human form of the disease,

because British supplies of a vital antibody are still being used.

Anti-D was included in a ban announced by the Department of Health eight

months ago on products manufactured with blood donated in Britain after

research suggested nvCJD could be transmissible.

Health chiefs admitted today that global supplies of Anti D - given to

pregnant women with blood group opposite to their baby to avoid potentially

fatal complications - are so scarce that hospitals are still using UK

stocks.

They say the life-saving benefits of Anti-D, which stops a mother's

" negative " blood from mixing with the baby's " positive " supply, outweigh

the theoretical risk of new variant CJD moving from person to person.

However, Mr Dealler warned: " If they are going to ban something then it

should be done immediately and not subjected to any sort of delay.

" New supplies based on blood donations from abroad were supposed to have

been up and running by September, but it now looks like they won't be ready

with the new Anti D until next summer.

" In a situation where we don't know the potential for transmission of

nvCJD, we have young people being exposed to a possible risk of the disease

and storing up potential problems for generations to come. "

Scientists fear that new variant CJD, the beef-related version of

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, is being passed on in epidemic proportions in

Britain through a variety of methods, from blood products to surgical

instruments.

Mr Dobson said: " There has always been a worldwide shortage of Anti D

immunoglobulin.

" It has therefore taken longer to obtain sources of plasma for use for

Anti D from non-UK sources than for other blood products. "

Supplies of non-UK plasma were hard to obtain because donors were rare

and had to be specially immunised before they could produce Anti D blood,

he said.

" Sources have now been identified and these products should be available

in a few months, " he added.

But he told MPs: " We don't know how many people are suffering from new

variant CJD and it is unlikely we will know for some years.

" We don't know how nvCJD arises or is transmitted, so it is extremely

difficult to deal with.

" At all times I have sought expert advice, acted promptly on that

advice, made the advice public and found the necessary extra funds. "

Tory health spokesman Alan Duncan urged Mr Dobson to issue a list of all

products which were at risk of contamination.

" Patients need to know the risks and they need to exercise an informed

choice. We are dealing here with people, not cattle, " he said.

In an attempt to prevent the as yet unproven link, the Department of

Health announced in February that it was halting British-derived supplies

and swapping to production using imported blood and plasma, chiefly from

the US.

New versions of the blood products, including Factor 8 for haemophiliacs

and albumin used for burns victims and in vaccines, were ready in time for

the original autumn deadline after supplies were imported from America.

But health bosses say the shortage of Anti D and, to a lesser extent, an

injection given to holidaymakers to protect them from Hepatitis A, means a

balance must be struck between the threat to life and the risk of nvCJD.

A Department of Health spokesman said: " Given that choice, the potential

risks are vastly outweighed by the benefits to these mothers-to-be and we

are working to make the new supplies available as soon as possible. "

She said the new versions of Anti D and gamma-globulin would be

available early next year, but could give no firm date.

Dr Nigel Higson, chairman of the Primary Care Virology Group, attacked

Mr Dealler for putting out " scares " which could lead to outbreaks of

hepatitis A because of people's reluctance to be vaccinated.

Dr Higson said it was important to recognise the differences between

gamma-globulin injections for hepatitis A, which are based on human blood

products, and hepatitis A vaccines, which are not.

" The hepatitis A vaccines are therefore not associated with CJD, " he

said.

" Scares such as those put out by Dealler in the press today are

misinformed and could potentially lead to outbreaks of hepatitis A in the

UK due to people's reluctance to present for hepatitis A vaccination. "

He added that it was vital that travellers to countries which have a

high risk of hepatitis A are vaccinated to prevent the disease spreading in

the UK.