Creutzfeld-Jacob disease and blood product recalls. Clearinghouse, P.O. Box 6003, Rockville, MD 20849-6003. 800-458-5231 ext. 5023. NLM AIDSLINE Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1995. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

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Creutzfeld-Jacob disease and blood product recalls. Clearinghouse, P.O. Box 6003, Rockville, MD 20849-6003. 800-458-5231 ext. 5023.

Common Factor. 1994 Apr;(no 10):23. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE AIDS/95700376
Colvin R; Dubin C; Haas G

Abstract: The American Red Cross has recalled 164 lots of antihemophilic factor (AHF) and albumin, due to the potential contamination of this product with the causative agent of Creutzfeld-Jakob disease (CJD). While CJD has not been shown to be passed through blood or plasma products, it can be transmitted by human tissues and human-derived growth hormone, it is not inactivated by normal cleansing processes, and there is no screening test for its presence in blood. The product withdrawals once again bring up the question of the safety of the nation's blood supply. CJD progresses rapidly and causes irreversible dementia and death. Its course and prevalence rate are uncertain. It is suspected that the CJD agent may be more dangerous in persons with compromised immune systems than in others, therefore, for the AIDS community, blood supply contamination that brings the possibility of new disease transmissions is a very real threat. As CJD shows, safety cannot be assured in the factor products used. One way to lessen the threat is to use smaller pools of plasma to produce the products.
Keywords: *Blood-Borne Pathogens Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome/PHYSIOPATHOLOGY/*TRANSMISSION Drug and Narcotic Control Drug Contamination *Factor VIII/THERAPEUTIC USE Hemophilia/THERAPY Human NEWSLETTER ARTICLE

KWDblood-bornepathogenscreutzfeldt-jakobsyndrome/physiopathology/KWDtransmissiondrugandnarcoticcontroldrugcontaminationKWDfactorviii/therapeuticusehemophilia/therapyhumannewsletterarticle
951130
M95B0890

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