European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 16, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Fears of tainted transfusions stretch around the Globe r -hi."-. J by the associated press. Prosperous Western Europe to the world s poorest nations contaminated blood supplies Are spreading fear that life saving transfusions could actually Lead to death from aids. Evidence that at least two German companies distributed plasma products tainted with the aids virus has spread panic and sent other european countries scurrying to tie cd their stocks. A recent scandal in Colombia set Back South american efforts to improve safety. Patchy testing of blood supplies in Africa has hindered attempts to Stem the spread of the killer disease in the worst affected continent. And tainted blood Given to orphans during the communist Era resulted in 2,376 infected children in Romania. What is the risk of contracting the virus that can Lead to aids virus through contaminated blood Low in wealthy countries and High in parts of the third world. The Wor d health organization in Geneva estimates there have been about 2.5 million cases of full blown acquired immune deficiency syndrome since records were first kept in 1981. Around 14 million people worldwide have the human immunodeficiency virus that leads to aids. Globally Between 5 percent and 10 percent of cases Are estimated to be due to transfusion transmitted infection through blood and blood products said or. Jean Emmanuel of who s global program on aids. Emmanuel stresses that industrialized countries have the technology to destroy viruses in products like plasma the resources to test All blood supplies for his and the infrastructure to ensure a reliable blood Supply. In the United states health authorities estimate the risk of patients becoming infected with his from blood transfusions is about one in 250,000, compared with one in 2,500 in 1985. About half the 20,000 Haemophiliacs in the United states were infected by his before testing for the virus was introduced in 1985. Similar tragedies unfolded in Japan Canada Britain Spain Italy and Switzerland. In France three senior health officials last year were convicted of knowingly allowing Haemophiliacs to receive blood clotting products tainted by his in 1985. A fourth was acquitted. A German red Cross official in Berlin shows How blood is stored. Not a worker at a us. Dink sorts blood samples for testing. Some blood storage companies have tried to trim costs by cutting Corners on tests causing problems worldwide. Heat treated plasma had just become available from the United states but the head of France s National blood Bank decided the imports would be too costly. About 1,200 Haemophiliacs were contaminated by the Factor 8 they needed to clot their blood to prevent bleeding. The risk is now subsiding for Haemophiliacs said Sheila Brading of the Montreal based world federation of Haemophilia. But that s in countries with the  in poorer parts of the world chances of contracting his through blood remain a real problem Emmanuel says. This is largely due to inconsistent testing procedures Lack of technology and expertise and the High Cost of sterilizing blood products. The message of who is prevention rather than cure. The recruitment and retention of Low risk blood donors carrying out his testing and Only using blood when it is necessary Emmanuel says. Developing countries rely heavily on paid donors who May include prostitutes or drug addicts needing Money. Countries like India and Pakistan and Russia have an open paid donor system. Parts of Africa and latin America use family replacement donors a scheme which in practice allows paid donors to pose As relatives of the patient. In Colombia a drug addicted bisexual who knew he had aids sold his blood 12 times to a Laboratory. Twelve patients received the blood Between 1989 and 1990 and went on to infect a further 200 people through sexual Contact. Any form of payment of any kind whether in Cash or in kind will attract the very people that you want to avoid says Emmanuel. A worldwide by the associated press Here is a summary of some countries affected by the spread of aids in contaminated blood americas Brazil an estimated 2,200 of 5,500 Haemophiliacs contracted his. Campaign by relatives of famous Haemophilia a cartoonist inspired cleanup of blood Banks and ban on paid donors. Poor testing in Remote areas. Canada health authorities admitted earlier this year they knew blood distributed to Haemophiliacs in Early 1980s was tainted. Europe Italy one in four Haemophiliacs infected with his. Allegations former health chief allowed unscreened blood products nearly one year after mandatory testing was established. Outdated health system. Blood products screened but relies heavily on High risk paid donor system. Spain government has agreed to pay the equivalent of $87,000 to 1,200 Haemophiliacs infected before 1985. Nearly half of Haemophiliacs reportedly contaminated. Britain government paid compensation to estimated 1,200 Haemophiliacs infected by imported american products before 1985. Africa Zaire health system was dependent on Western funding which has now stopped. There Are fears that his screening in blood a also stopped. About one in five his infected children said infected by contaminated blood. Uganda one of worst affected countries in Africa with his infection rates reaching 60 percent in some villages. Most the German scandal avarice is. Safety by Dean l Murphy los Angeles times he quivering voice was that of a Middle aged German woman turning to a radio talk show for advice. My husband was in the Hospital and received two blood transfusions she confided Over the air this week. I am worried. What do i do the reply was As simple As it was startling Tell him to get an aids test now. Not Long ago such advice would have seemed absurd in a country of 81 million where Only a Small fraction of the population almost All of them Gays and intravenous drug users carries the virus that causes aids. But concern about aids is sweeping Germany like wildfire due to one of the biggest and potentially most deadly health scandals in this country s history. Health officials say anyone who received donated blood in the past decade May have contracted his from tainted products supplied by us plasma of Koblenz which allegedly tried to save Money by not properly testing its blood donations. The warning has set off a nationwide panic As thousands of former blood recipients fear the worst and countless others put off surgeries and refuse blood transfusions. It also has prompted a flurry of political Russia estimates of More than 30,000 from heterosexual Intercourse. Trying to his carriers. Big increase feared because of switch to voluntary blood donor system. A health worker draws blood for an aids test in Uganda. Heterosexual Intercourse. Relies on family donor system. Nigeria in populous Lagos state a new Law imposes a stiff Fine or prison sentence if a doctor transfused untested Rise in prostitution drug abuse and Kenya most reported aids cases from blood into a patient. Asia China Iri population of 1.1 billion about 1,100 people tested his carriers. Blood testing Patchy. Estimated one fifth of chinese who receive blood come Down with hepatitis indicating potential risk of his infection from blood but few instances reported so far. Heavy Reliance on paid donor system. Japan about 2,000 Haemophiliacs infected with Huv virus before 1985. Lawsuits pending in 112 cases. Paid blood donor system stopped three years ago. India relies on High risk paid donor system which government is trying to discourage. Blood screened in Urban areas but not villages. Less than 5 percent of estimated 1 million his cases said due to infected blood. Thailand explosion in aids expected. Estimated 600,000 his carriers mainly from sex. Government Campaign to improve safety of blood Supply. Only 28 people said to have contracted aids through blood. Finger pointing As germans ask How such apparent avarice could go unchecked in a country renowned for its efficiency and exacting standards. The . Army said last week that there have been More than 10,000 cases in which americans were treated in German hospitals where tainted blood plasma May have been available but said it was unlikely any of the patients contracted his in the process. A . European come spokesman said plasma is usually used to counter massive blood loss in emergencies. Officials said the risk to patients treated in army hospitals is even Slighter because the army obtains most of its blood products in Europe from its own donor Center in Lan Stuhl. However americans concerned that they May have received tainted blood products while affiliated with the military were advised to seek evaluation at a . Medical facility scares involving contaminated blood supplies have occurred worldwide but until now Germany had emerged relatively unscathed. There is an obvious hysteria said Friedrich Ernst Dueppe of the German red Cross the country s1 largest operator of blood Banks. In some states even blood donations have dropped off because people have the fear however irrational that they May get  hospitals health clinics doctors offices and government agencies have been swamped with inquiries from former patients wanting to know if they were exposed to the tainted blood. The answer is often agonizingly unclear some hospitals estimate Only one fifth of patient files indicate the source of blood products used in treatment. Others say it could take weeks and millions of dollars in overtime pay to. Sort through records. Authorities insist the risk of infection for most germans is Small somewhere Between one in 100,000 and one in 1 million but Public Confidence in official pronouncements has fallen precipitously amid revelations that Federal and state health officials knew about the company s poor track record and did Little about it. A former employee of the Koblenz firm reported to local health authorities in 1987 that tainted blood was being distributed a Federal health Agency in Berlin was alerted in 1991 that blood products from the company marked negative were subsequently found to be positive. Even so the Koblenz prosecutor who finally closed the firm late last month said he first Learned about its problems through newspaper stories about several of the firm s blood donors who had tested positive for his which causes aids. This disaster was Only possible because of carelessness slackness indifference and negligence on the  the responsible authorities said Klaus Kirschner parliamentary health expert for the opposition social democrats in Bonn. What this company did was criminal but it was Able to get away with it because the controls  16 the stars and stripes tuesday november 14, 1999 the stars and stripes 17