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 Canadian
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Sheep develops vCJD after receiving blood from another sheep
Is blood from people infected with variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (vCJD, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy [BSE]) infectious? The final answer won't be known for several years, but a British study (Lancet 2000;356:955-9) provides "convincing evidence" that it may be. In this study, blood from a sheep that had been fed 5 g of BSE-affected cattle brain was transfused into another sheep. At the time, the sheep that provided the blood was symptom free. The sheep that received its blood subsequently began exhibiting clinical signs of and pathological changes associated with BSE. Before this, there was only "hypothetical" evidence that vCJD was transmissible via transfusions (CMAJ 1998;159[6]:669-70). "Although this result was in only one animal, it indicates that BSE can be transmitted between individuals of the same species by whole-blood transfusion," the authors report. The finding came after blood services in Canada, the US and New Zealand had already moved to ban transfusions from people who spent more than 6 months in the UK in the 1980s and early '90s because of fears they might harbour the disease. Australia is now considering a similar move. This initial result was released early because of fears of media leaks, but an accompanying editorial questioned the move: "Science should not be driven to what in certain medical quarters might be termed a premature emission through fear of media misrepresentation." The authors said the finding was "sufficiently important" to warrant the early report. — Patrick Sullivan, CMAJ
Copyright 2000 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors |
