Get For Me Singapore FrontPage 9 Feb 2001 (More)

Ministry Of Health 7 Feb 2001

FOR MEDIA INFORMATION

VARIANT CJD AND SINGAPORE'S BLOOD SUPPLY

What is Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease (CJD)

1. Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease (CJD) is a rare and fatal neuro-degenerative condition.

2. Epidemiologic information and laboratory studies have indicated that transmission of CJD by blood products is highly unlikely. Nevertheless, most blood banks, including Singapore, adopt precautionary measures to reduce the possible risk of transmission, eg by deferring potential blood donors if they have lived or travelled in the UK for a cumulative period of six months between 1980 and 1996.

What is Variant Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease (vCJD)

3. Variant Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease (vCJD) is a new disease that was first described in March 1996. Unlike "classical" CJD, vCJD is strongly linked with exposure, probably through food, to a similar degenerative brain disorder in cattle called Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).

No Diagnostic Blood Test for vCJD

4. There is no diagnostic blood test currently available for vCJD.

Risk of Transmission of vCJD Through Blood is currently a theoretical one.

5. The risk of transmission of vCJD through blood is a theoretical one. Some vCJD patients have donated blood. However, to date, there have been no cases of blood-transfusion related vCJD.

Import of Blood Products

6. Singapore is self-sufficient in fresh blood supply except in extremely rare situations where the patient has a rare blood type that the Singapore Blood Transfusion Service (SBTS) is unable to find a match for. Singapore is not completely self-sufficient in blood products. The Ministry applies strict criteria of quality, safety and efficacy for the registration, for import, of blood products and vaccines in line with international standards.

7. Since the discovery of vCJD, the Ministry has excluded donor source material from UK. The blood products currently registered in Singapore are therefore derived from blood collected from non-UK donors.

SINGAPORE BLOOD TRANSFUSION SERVICE
HEALTH SCIENCES DIVISION
MINISTRY OF HEALTH
FEBRUARY 2001