Blood safety monitoring among persons with bleeding disorders--United States, May 1998-June 2002.

Since 1998, CDC has collaborated with approximately 140 federally funded hemophilia treatment centers (HTCs) in the United States and its territories through the Universal Data Collection (UDC) surveillance project to monitor blood product safety and detect new viral hepatitis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections. This report presents findings of investigations conducted during May 1998-June 2002 of 1,149 seroconversions for hepatitis viruses identified among persons with bleeding disorders who were enrolled voluntarily in UDC; 99% of hepatitis A virus (HAV) seroconversions and 90% of hepatitis B virus (HBV) seroconversions were attributed to vaccination programs against HAV or HBV. None of these cases was attributable to blood products received during this time, which indicates that the virally inactivated blood factor concentrates used to treat bleeding disorders are unlikely to transmit viral hepatitis. Regular monitoring of patients ensures the continued safety of blood and blood products.