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Test leads to safer national blood supply

Infection Control Monitor, August 20, 2004

The nation's blood supply is much safer today in the wake of testing systems that screen donated blood for potentially deadly viruses, United Press International reports.

Researchers from the National Institutes of Health found that the testing has prevented the transmission of five HIV-1 cases and 56 hepatitis C infections each year since the nucleic acid-amplification test was introduced five years ago. The study analyzed blood samples from more than 98% of donation laboratories in the United States.

The testing reduced the risk of transmission of diseases such as HIV-1 to about one in 2 million units. Past blood screening tests only lowered the risk to one in 1.5 million.

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