Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Road Walker who wrote (177436)	11/3/2003 9:11:51 PM
From: Jim McMannis	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1574005

New tests find West Nile in blood supply Mon Nov 3, 6:47 AM ET Add Top Stories - USATODAY.com to My Yahoo! By Anita Manning, USA TODAY Nearly 1,000 units of blood infected with West Nile virus (news - web sites) were kept out of the blood supply this year because of new, experimental tests that screened virtually all blood donated since July 1, test manufacturers say. • Government official: Former HealthSouth CEO to face charges • Bush: U.S. mourns every loss in Iraq • Historian Richard Neustadt, 84, dies • Peterson will put on DNA expert • Peterson will put on DNA expert -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Search USATODAY.com Snapshots USA TODAY Snapshot How many civilian veterans are in the U.S.? More USA TODAY Snapshots At a meeting of the American Association of Blood Banks today in San Diego, officials of Chiron Corp. will report that of 3.5 million pints of blood screened using its test, 861 were confirmed to be tainted with West Nile virus. Roche Molecular Diagnostics says its test was used to screen about 1 million units, and detected about 100 that were infected. "Picking up 1,000 potentially infectious units is quite a big deal," says Roger Dodd, president of the association. The tests were developed in record time after 23 people last year became infected with West Nile through blood transfusions. "There is a lot of anxiety about the safety of the blood supply," he says. "This shows in this case, it was managed very quickly." This year, only two cases of transfusion-related West Nile infections have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (news - web sites). They're among 7,718 cases of infection with the mosquito-borne virus that have been reported to the CDC this year, at last count. That's more illnesses than last year, when 4,156 were reported, but this year's epidemic has been less deadly. In 2002, 284 people died of West Nile infections, compared with 166 this year. The CDC reports that of the cases this year that they have details on, 66% were relatively mild illnesses, involving fever and aches, and 29% were severe, with encephalitis or meningitis. (Five percent were not specified.) The number of new cases is slowing, health officials say, but the threat remains. Cool weather in most of the country will eliminate the mosquitoes that carry the virus, but in warm climates, the disease could circulate year-round. "Blood donations throughout the year will be tested for West Nile virus," Chiron spokeswoman Kim Weissenburger says. "They're certainly still finding infected donations."