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West Nile virus may scare off blood donors

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The Center for Disease Control and Prevention is working with other health and human service agencies in ongoing investigations of possible West Nile virus transmission through blood transfusions.

In reported cases, individuals have been diagnosed with West Nile virus after receiving blood transfusions.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration are collecting blood samples in low-, medium- and high-virus areas to determine the prevalence of West Nile virus in the blood of donors.

Kathryn Veddor, director of the Madison Department of Public Health, notes, “Any viral disease can be passed through blood transfusion.”

The FDA is working with public and private partners to develop routine blood-donor screening, if necessary.

But the CDC emphasized that the benefits of receiving a necessary transfusion outweigh the risk of a West Nile virus infection.

Blood donors cannot acquire the West Nile virus through the act of giving blood, so donation is still encouraged by Public Health Services.

According to a Sept. 16 article from The Washington Post, only one out of 20 first-time donors after Sept. 11 returned three times to donate. Remarkably, the article stated the Red Cross is nearing a critical level, with only a two-day blood supply.

According to Laura Moon, communications supervisor from American Red Cross Blood Services, “People in good health are encouraged to donate blood in order to meet the needs of patients every day.”

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention posted the new West Nile virus national totals Sept. 24. According to the CDC, there have been 2072 laboratory-positive human cases and 98 deaths so far in 2002.

The West Nile virus is spread by an infected mosquito bite and, on rare occasions, can cause fatal neurological illnesses. Fever, headaches, and body aches are all symptoms of the virus.

Dave Campbell, an environmental hygienist at the Milwaukee Health Department, said, “We have been doing surveillance for the West Nile virus in wild birds, mosquitoes and humans since 2001.”

The CDC has funded approximately $35 million this year toward states and cities affected by the virus.

“We are joined with state and local health departments in this battle against the West Nile virus,” Tommy Thompson, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, said in a release.

“These funds will assist states and cities with programs that monitor the spread of West Nile and improve their capability to protect their citizens.”

Students can donate blood at Youngblood, the campus donation center for the Red Cross, Thursdays and Fridays between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Youngblood is located in Room 302 of Union South.