Press Release: Statement of Commissioner Byrne on possible vCJD transmission by blood

Following the information made available on 17 December 2003 by the UK Secretary of State for Health, John Reid, about the possibility of transmission of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) through a blood transfusion, Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection David Byrne said that all the circumstances surrounding this tragic death needed careful examination before any firm conclusion could be drawn. At a meeting of the European Union's Communicable Disease Network on 17 December 2003 the UK Representative was requested to provide detailed information so that all concerned could examine the issue.

• Primary Source

http://ec.europa.eu/comm/research/quality-of-life/tse/index_en.html http://ec.europa.eu/comm/research/quality-of-life/tse/index_en.html

http://www.eurocjd.ed.ac.uk/vCJD.htm http://www.eurocjd.ed.ac.uk/vCJD.htm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3327745.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3327745.stm

http://www.cjd.ed.ac.uk/ http://www.cjd.ed.ac.uk/

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