Guest guest Posted November 30, 1998 Report Share Posted November 30, 1998 Headline: BSE FEARS LEAD TO BAN ON BRITISH SPLEENS Wire Service: PA (PA News) Date: Mon, Nov 30, 1998 Copyright 1998 PA News. Copying, storing, redistribution, retransmission, publication, transfer or commerical exploitation of this information is expressly forbidden. By von Radowitz, Medical Correspondent, PA News Concern over the possibility that BSE-contaminated beef might infect the spleen today led to a ban on using organs from British patients for a diagnostic test. Spleen tissue is used to test for a rare inflammatory disease, sarcoidosis. Specially prepared spleen tissue from someone with the disease is injected under the skin of the recipient patient to see if it produces a reaction. From now on, the Kveim Skin Test will have to rely on spleens taken from donors from countries other than the UK that have a low BSE risk. Announcing the move today, Health Secretary Dobson stressed it was a purely precautionary measure. He pointed out that the Kveim Skin Test was very rarely used. In the past 12 years only two spleens had been used in the production of the test tissue, called Kveim Skin Test Antigen (KSTA), in Britain. Both donors were still alive and had no signs of neurological illness. The spleen, a plum-coloured organ lying behind the stomach, produces white blood cells and acts as an emergency reservoir of red blood cells. Experts believe organs such as the spleen and lymph nodes may carry new variant CJD -- the human version of BSE -- as well as the brain and spinal cord. The Government was advised to take action over the possible risk from spleen tissue by the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee, which helps shape policy on BSE and CJD. Mr Dobson said: " The Government has said it will take whatever steps advised are necessary to protect the public from the risk of exposure to nvCJD. Although there is no evidence of transmission via the Kveim Skin Test it is right that we should act immediately on the advice of our experts. " Sarcoidosis, which most often appears in the lungs or lymph nodes, can easily escape diagnosis or be mistaken for several other illnesses. The Kveim Skin Test is one method used to diagnose sarcoidosis in a minority of cases where it is considered clinically appropriate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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