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The EU's Transfusion Hepatitis C Outbreak
The EU Contaminated Blood Outbreak
Across the EU we see a far more balanced and open admission of the Contaminated Blood Disaster, the EU understands 1 in 50 of its citizens has Hepatitis C mainly from healthcare, it also understands that 1 in 50 of its citizens have Hepatitis B mainly from childhood or healthcare.
In this section we study how many EU nations have tested and counted up their infections from contaminated blood honestly and with a clear desire to make sure as few as possible progress unknowingly to real liver harm.
Epidemiology of hepatitis C in Europe
Francesco Negro Divisions of Clinical Pathology and Hepatology, Geneva University Hospital Tel.: +41 22 3795800; fax: +41 22 3729366.
Across most of Europe most (19 million) HCV infections were due to transfusions
with infected blood and its derivatives or due to unsafe invasive medical and surgical procedures. Before 1990 the risk of HCV via blood transfusions was 0.45% per unit [19]
Spain's Contaminated Blood Disaster
Like all developed nations who have co operated with the World Health Organisations Approach to Hepatitis C, Spain noted a massive drop in HCV infections with blood screening in 1991
HCV screening of blood donors to prevent post transfusion hepatitis: interim report of the Barcelona
PTH study. In: Hollinger FB, Lemon SM, Margolis HS, eds. Viral hepatitis and liver disease. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1991:431–3.
Recent reports from Spain document
decreases of 60 to 80%
in the incidence of post-transfusion non-A, non-B hepatitis after the implementation of screening of donors for antibodies to HCV in addition to, or at the same time as, screening for surrogate markers.25 , 26
The example of Spain is also good to supply a meaningful breakdown for a EU nations transmission routes and their differing levels of impact. Transfusion and Surgery transmission clearly accounts for the bulk of their Hepatitis C and I V drug use only 21%. This is important when remembering most Department of Health literature is still trumpeting up to 90% of UK Hepatitis C is due to People Who Inject Drugs. Further Spain clearly has spotted the need to keep the high street safe as tattoos are infecting twice as often as either living with or giving birth with Hepatitis C.
