Indian Government probes bad blood imports from Britain

Govt has ordered a probe into blood products contaminated with human form of mad cow disease have been shipped from UK.

The Indian Government has ordered a probe to verify reports that blood products contaminated with the human form of mad cow disease have been shipped from Britain.

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Health Secretary JVR Prasada Rao asked the Drugs Controller General India (DGCI) to conduct the probe to find out if infected blood products have indeed found their way into the country.

"All samples have to be verified," health ministry sources quoted Rao as telling DCGI.

Published reports on Tuesday said that Britain had exported blood product samples potentially contaminated with the human form of mad cow disease to 11 countries including India.

The blood products were reportedly donated by nine Britons who subsequently died from the variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease (vCJD).

National AIDS Control Organisation joint director (blood safety) P Salil said that the blood product reportedly imported from Britain was 'Factor VIII,' used in treatment of Haemophilia -- a hereditary blood disease where the blood fails to clot and abnormal bleeding occurs.

"But we have to wait till the DCGI completes its probe to ascertain whether we have at all received contaminated products," he said.