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http://www.sundayherald.com/33216
British travellers barred from donating blood
By Sarah-Kate Templeton, Health Editor
British travellers to China and Hong Kong have been barred from donating blood for 14 days after their return to the UK to prevent supplies becoming contaminated with the deadly Sars virus, which has so far claimed the lives of 180 people.
New guidelines issued to the Scottish Blood Transfusion Service advise that blood donated by anyone who could potentially have been exposed to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) should be destroyed.
The measures were introduced on Thursday but the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) did not issue a public statement for fear of deterring donors from coming forward.
Something they are keen not to do as Scotland is currently experiencing a shortage of blood. In December, Scots were warned that supplies were nearing their limit.
Moira Carter, national donor services manager of the SNBTS, said: 'What we are suggesting is that anyone who has returned from China or Hong Kong should not donate blood for 14 days after their return.
'If we found out that someone had been in Hong Kong or China within 14 days prior to giving blood we would put the blood on hold and it would not be issued to patients. It would be destroyed. We wouldn't make a public announcement about this because the incidence is so low. We have only just put in place the arrangements.'
Carter added that the SNBTS did not want to put people off giving blood: 'There is no need for alarm. Most people can give blood and we would encourage them to come forward.'
The advice was issued by the Joint United Kingdom Blood Transfusion Services and National Institute of Biological Standards and Control Professional Advisory Committee (JPAC).
There have been no cases of people contracting Sars via tainted blood but genes of the virus that cause the illness have been detected in the blood of patients so it is theoretically possible that it could be transmitted in this way.
On Thursday, the US Food and Drug Administration issued similar guidance. Any Americans who may have been exposed to Sars within 14 days of donating are being asked to contact blood banks so supplies can be removed indefinitely.
The guidance comes as British boarding school pupils returning from holidays in southeast Asia are this weekend beginning 10 days in isolation at a quarantine camp, as revealed in the Sunday Herald last week.
About 155 children aged nine to 17 years were taken to the East Dene Centre on the Isle of Wight after flying into the UK from Hong Kong.
The 10-day quarantine was organised by White House Guardianship, a support agency for foreign pupils studying in Britain, at the request of about 30 boarding schools.
During their time on the island the pupils will remain within the East Dene Centre's 14-acre grounds. The pupils are enjoying activities such as football, table tennis, dodge ball and orienteering.
They will be closely monitored for early signs of the Sars virus but will not undergo regular medical checks. The camp has been set up at the insistence of parents of British pupils and not on the advice of public health experts.
A spokesman for the Health Protection Agency said: 'This isn't something that the agency is recommending. The action by the group of independent schools is something they have done without our support or recommendation.'
The new coronavirus has claimed about 180 lives and infected nearly 3600 people globally. Hong Kong yesterday reported its highest one-day jump in Sars deaths with the loss of 12 lives in 48 hours.
Meanwhile China, which has been widely criticised for concealing the true toll of the disease, has threatened to punish officials caught covering up cases. The deadly virus first appeared in China's southern province of Guangdong.
China's Sars numbers are expected to rise after Beijing promised to revise its figures following charges the city was not telling the truth about how many people had caught it.
The World Health Organ isation said that the Beijing government would raise its toll 'significantly' after agreeing to alter the way it defines patients with symptoms of the flu-like virus. The experts said they suspected Beijing had between 100 and 200 cases but was reporting only 37, possibly because of differing definitions of what constituted a confirmed case.
Hong Kong was the first place Sars erupted outside of mainland China, and Singapore was not far behind as airline travellers carried Sars around the world to infect people in up to 30 countries.
Vietnam's health authority has proposed the border with China be closed temporarily to prevent the bug from crossing the frontier. The plan is awaiting government decision.
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