Steve Quayle News Alerts

June 18, 2003

HOUSTON -- Houston is one of three cities in the nation to use a new state-of-the-art way to test blood for West Nile virus.

Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration asked cities to come up with a plan due to the high number of cases of the virus, and because of several reported cases of West Nile virus contracted through blood transfusions.

"There's over 2,000 transfusions a day," said Dr. Susan Rossmann, medical director of the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center. "I think all of our crystal balls were broken last year. The season was much more severe than we predicted."

"We need 800 donations a day," said Richard Plumlee, director of the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center.

Nationwide, 284 people died from the mosquito-borne West Nile virus last year. Another 4,156 people contracted the disease. Blood transfusions were identified as the cause of infection in 21 people in 2002.

While people who have West Nile virus should avoid donating blood, 80 percent of people who have the virus have no symptoms, Plumlee said.

The new test screens donated blood quickly.

"We can test up to 2,000 units a night," Plumlee said. "It's the most sensitive test of its kind."

Each sample has a bar code for the computerized test.

"We'll be able to tell how many positives we do have," Plumlee said.

For donors, it's peace of mind. If their blood turns up positive for the virus, they are notified within 24 hours.

"The vast majority of people who get West Nile will get it from mosquitoes," Plumlee said.

The Houston lab started clinical trials this week. A total of 11 blood laboratories will begin work around July 1, screening samples from a network of nearly 100 local donation centers across the United States, testing thousands of samples each week.

Officials said that close to 100 percent of the nation's blood supply would be tested for West Nile virus soon.

And despite the risk of virus transmission, experts say the benefits of blood transfusions generally outweigh the risks.

http://www.thewpbfchannel.com/health/2277481/detail.html