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Date: July 6, 2003
Posted by: ERAP (envrisk@cornell.edu)

The New York Times
July 4, 2003
New Test Finds West Nile in Donated Blood
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON, July 3 - Testing of the nation's blood supply for West 
Nile virus, which began just days ago, has uncovered the first 
infected donation, the Food and Drug Administration said today.

The testing prevented the blood from reaching any patients.

The donor was a 46-year-old woman in Harris County, Tex., which 
includes Houston, who had displayed no West Nile symptoms, the agency 
said. West Nile can be fatal and is especially risky for the elderly.

While the tests are still being confirmed, the results so far signal 
that "blood is much safer than last year," said Hira Nakhasi, 
director of the agency's division of emerging and transfusion 
transmitted diseases.

West Nile virus is spread mostly by infected mosquitoes, but about 13 
of last year's 4,000 cases are believed to have been caused by 
transfusions.

Last year, the only way to guard the blood supply was to turn away 
potential donors with telltale flulike symptoms, but most of those 
infected do not exhibit the symptoms.

So blood specialists raced to adapt technology, called nucleic acid 
testing, that detects low levels of other viruses in blood. On July 
1, blood banks began using experimental West Nile tests made by two 
competitors, Roche Molecular Diagnostics and the Chiron Corporation, 
to screen all donations before they are shipped to hospitals.

Today, Roche, a unit of Roche Holdings Ltd., reported the first 
positive test result.

The government has counted no people with West Nile symptoms this 
year but has found the virus in mosquitoes and animals in 28 states. 
Officials urge that people wear insect repellent while outdoors and 
regularly drain water containers.

Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company
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