Blood products banned as precaution against nvCJD


27 February 1998


Blood products banned as "precaution" against nvCJD


VACCINES and other products derived from blood plasma should not be made from British blood donations as a precautionary measure against the spread of nvCJD, the Government has warned.


New variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is the human form of BSE. The Government has ruled that 33 blood products must be phased out to protect
patients from a “hypothetical risk” of catching nvCJD.


Frank Dobson, health secretary, said their was no evidence to suggest that the disease could be spread through blood. He said the decision was precautionary measure and that it was better to be safe than sorry.


Some 23 people have died from nvCJD in the UK so far.


  • Financial Times 27/02/98 page 10
  • The Times 27/02/98 page 1, page 2
  • The Independent 27/02/98 page 5
  • The Daily Telegraph 27/02/98 page 1, page 2
  • The Guardian 27/02/98 page 1, page 3
  • The Scotsman 27/02/98 page 1, page 2, page 18 (Editorial comment)

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