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Wednesday, 30 September 2020
(10.00 am) SIR BRIAN LANGSTAFF: Yes, Ms Richards. MS RICHARDS: Sir, I'm going to pick matters up in relation to Cardiff and Professor Bloom in early 1983, which is where I left off last week. Before I do so, I should just mention that I identified last week a number of statements that the Inquiry had received from nursing or social work staff at Cardiff. I should add we've also since received and been able to disclose to core participants a statement from Dr Giddings, who was the scientist working at Cardiff, and a statement from Dr Liddell, who was a registrar working under Professor Bloom at Cardiff. Those documents have been shared with recognised legal representatives and core participants. Sir, picking things up in 1983, it was obviously a hugely significant year in terms of the response of Haemophilia Centre Directors to AIDS, led by Professor Bloom as chair of UKHCDO. If we could have on screen please, Henry,
- PRSE0001991. This is a report prepared for
a January 1983 meeting of Scottish Health Service Haemophilia Centre and Transfusion Service Directors. The relevance of it for present purposes will become 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 2 apparent if we go to page 7. If we look halfway down the page, under the heading "Miscellaneous", we'll see under the heading "AIDS" it says: "The attention of the Haemophilia Directors is drawn to this problem (Appendix VI). It is noted that in the US the National Haemophilia Foundation and CDC are already conducting a survey and intend to establish a permanent surveillance programme. The information contained in Appendix VI has been sent to Professor ... Bloom, Chairman of the UK Haemophilia Centre Directors' meeting." So we can see there appendix 6 is being drawn to the attention of Scottish Haemophilia Centre Directors but also we're told it's sent to Professor Bloom. If we go on please, Henry, to -- it should be page 14, we will see what appendix 6 comprised. So this is -- we can see, the bottom right-hand side of the page, the words at right angles to the text say "Appendix VI", and this is the MMWR from December of 1982. We can see that it contains the update, and we'll just look at the text so we can see what was being drawn to Professor Bloom's attention. If we go back, please, to the top of the page, Henry, left-hand side, first paragraph under the heading "Update on Acquired Immune Deficiency 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 3 Syndrome", we see reference there to the specific haemophilia patients identified in July 1982 and then it's said, fourth line: "All three have since died. In the intervening 4 months, four additional heterosexual haemophilia A patients have developed one or more opportunistic infections." Then it says: "... these four AIDS cases and one highly suspect case are presented below." It's set out there that: "... inquiries about the patients ... provide no suggestion that disease could have been acquired through ..." Other means such as contact or illicit drug use. "All of these patients have received Factor VIII concentrates, and all but one have also received other blood components." If we go back to the full page, please, Henry, there are then details set out of the four cases. Then the bottom right-hand side we have details of the suspect case, which is a seven-year old severe haemophiliac from Los Angeles. Then if we could go over the page, please, we can see in the editorial note it's said: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 4 "These additional cases of AIDS among haemophilia A patients share several features with the three previously reported cases. All but one are severe haemophiliacs requiring large amounts of Factor VIII concentrate; none had experienced prior
- pportunistic infections."
Reference is made to two of the five having died. Then in the right-hand side of the page, about four paragraphs down, there is reference to these additional cases providing important perspectives
- n AIDS:
"Two of the patients described are ten years of age or less and children with haemophilia must now be considered at risk for the disease. In addition, the number of cases continues to increase and the illness may pose a significant risk for patients with haemophilia." Then if we go back to that full page, please, Henry, we then see an extract from the further report -- this is the bottom right-hand part of the page, under the heading "Possible transfusion-associated Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)", reference there to the 20-month old infant from San Francisco who had been transfused. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 The Infected Blood Inquiry 30 September 2020 (Full Day)
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