January 10, 2008

Tainted Blood Supplies Put U.K. Soldiers and Civilians at Risk

Soldiers and civilian military personnel from the United Kingdom who received blood from members of the Unites States military may be at risk for HIV infection and other blood-borne illnesses, The Daily Telegraph reports (telegraph.co.uk, 1/10).

Currently 18 military personnel and six civilians may be at risk for infection. The Telegraph reports that wounded troops stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq from 2001 through last year may also have been exposed—through blood transfusions—to HIV, hepatitis A and C, Chagas disease and Human T-lymphotropic Virus (HTLV), which may cause cancer.

According to the article, the potential infections are attributed to poor record keeping and less thorough blood screening by U.S. officials.

The military personnel who were potentially exposed to the various blood-borne viruses were tested for HIV and other infections just before Christmas and are awaiting their results.

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Brenda Chambers, Salt Lake City, 2008-01-16 16:31:24
In this day and age, this is disgraceful. With as much money as the military needs for the war, there should be enough for simple screening tests for those donating blood.