A new case of variant-CJD associated with a blood transfusion has recently been diagnosed.
This third occurrence of vCJD infection associated with blood transfusion is further evidence that vCJD can be transmitted between humans by blood transfusion. All three cases to date relate to the transfusion of blood components and not treatment with plasma products.
The patient is one of a small number (less than 30) of living individuals who are known to have received a blood transfusion in the UK from a donor who later developed vCJD. All these individuals have previously been informed of their potential exposure to vCJD and asked to take certain precautions to reduce the chance of passing vCJD on to other people via healthcare procedures, such as surgery.
Professor Peter Borriello, director of the Health Protection Agency’s Centre for Infections said: “The occurrence of a third case of vCJD infection in a small group of patients like this suggests that blood transfusion from an infected donor may be a relatively efficient mechanism for the transmission of vCJD, although much still remains unknown. This underlines the importance of the existing precautions that have been introduced to reduce the risk of transmitting vCJD infection through blood transfusion.”
