HHS NEWS

STATEMENT                         FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE             Lenore Gelb:      301-443-3285 
July 18, 1997                     
                                  Consumer Hotline: 800-532-4440
                                 
                                  CDC: Tom Skinner: 404-639-3286
 
             FDA/CDC WARN AGAINST BLOOD DONATIONS 
       BY THOSE POSSIBLY EXPOSED TO TICK-BORNE ILLNESSES 


     As a precautionary measure, The Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) are advising that individuals who underwent training at the
Fort Chaffee, Arkansas military base during the months of April
through June 1997 and have subsequently donated blood or plasma
within four weeks after leaving the base should immediately
notify the blood or plasma establishment where the donation
occurred.  
     These establishments need to be informed that these National
Guardsmen may have been exposed to tick-borne pathogens which
could possibly be transmitted through blood transfusion.  If
notified, blood establishments should take immediate steps to
retrieve the potentially affected blood and blood components
intended for transfusion.  CDC and FDA will continue to actively
monitor the situation.
     In addition, both agencies are renewing their warning that 
the months of April through June, 1997 should not donate blood
within four weeks of their departure.
     Earlier this month certain blood products collected at Fort
Chaffee were recalled from six states as a precautionary measure
because donors of these products may have been exposed to tick-
borne pathogens.  To date, CDC has serologically confirmed Rocky
Mountain spotted fever in one ill guardsman, and has preliminary
results of additional infections by spotted fever rickettsia and
Ehrlichia in guardsmen who returned from Fort Chaffee.
     Subsequent evaluation of this incident by CDC and FDA has
revealed that on at least four occasions individuals who might
have been exposed to these tick diseases during training at Fort
Chaffee donated blood at other establishments.  The likelihood
that an individual who has received a transfusion recently in the
United States that was obtained from one of these National
Guardsmen is extremely low.  CDC does not have any reports of
illness among persons who received blood components from National
Guardsmen that could likely be attributable to a tick-borne
illness. 
     Health professionals should report any adverse events
associated with these products to MedWatch, FDA's adverse
reporting program, at 1-800-FDA-1088 and to their blood bank. 
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