TOKYO (AP)
Tainted blood products used in Japan until 1988 may have exposed
hundreds of people to hepatitis, the Health Ministry said Thursday.
The ministry
released a list of 803 hospitals that used the products, and urged
patients who took them to be tested. The drugs were administered
before the approval of heat-treated blood products that eliminate
the danger of infection.
Similar tainted
blood products were responsible for nearly 2,000 hemophiliacs
in Japan contracting HIV in the 1980s. Government officials are
suspected of contributing to the infections by blocking approval
for safer drugs to allow domestic companies to develop their own
products.
After the
HIV scandal broke, the Health Ministry in 1996 tested for possible
HIV infection from the untreated blood products. However, it did
not conduct similar tests for hepatitis until this year.
The ministry
said Thursday it believes about 1,000 people received hepatitis
tainted blood products between 1972 and 1988. Several hundred
of them were believed to have contracted hepatitis B and C.
The viral
liver diseases can cause jaundice, fatigue, stomach pain and vomiting,
and can lead to cancer and liver failure. More than 2 million
Japanese are believed to have hepatitis C and 1.5 million hepatitis
B.
The ministry
has set up a telephone hotline to handle inquiries. Free medical
checkups will be provided until July 31.
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