Brain disease 'passed by transfusion'

THE deadly brain disease vCJD could be transmitted by blood transfusion, according to a new study by city scientists.

A nine-year study in sheep, published yesterday, has added to the evidence that variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease – the human form of BSE – can be transmitted through blood transfusion in humans.

The findings, by scientists at the Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, underline the importance of precautions against vCJD transmission.

The Government has banned blood donations from anyone who had received a blood transfusion since 1980.

The study looked at BSE transmission between sheep through infected blood.

Dr Fiona Houston, who led the research, said: "It is apparent that the stage of disease incubation in infected donors played a large role in the likelihood of transmission.

"The longer that BSE or scrapie had been carried by donors, the greater the likelihood of the disease being transmitted."