She had no history of surgery or receipt of blood or blood products, and she was never a blood donor.
Institutionalized procedures to ensure the safe donation and receipt of blood and blood products sub-sequently have eliminated the transmission of HIV and hepatitis B and C via these pathways.
The non-IDU group included persons who had reported potential acquisition of HCV infection through receipt of blood or blood products, tattoo/body piercing, needlestick injury, sexual contact, or perinatal transmission.
On receipt, the blood samples were centrifuged, aliquoted into plasma, red blood cells, and buffy coat fractions, and stored in the vapor phase of liquid nitrogen freezers since collection.
COPD patients with co-morbid anemia were identified in two ways: claims with ICD-9 codes specific for anemia, or receipt of blood transfusions not associated with other apparent causes (e.g., acute blood loss from surgery, trauma, etc).
In the USA, 60% of chronic HCV infections are attributed to intravenous drug use, 15% to receipt of blood transfusions before 1989 (when a test to screen for HCV in donated blood became available) and 15% to sexual transmission (41).
For classification purposes, the time to blood-culture was calculated as the time from admission to the time of receipt of blood culture in the laboratory, allowing for overnight delay in transport for cultures obtained in the evening or at night.
Exclusion criteria included: current illness as indicated by history, examination and/or laboratory testing, previous immunization with a rabies vaccine or any experimental vaccine, recent use of immunosuppressants, receipt of blood products during the previous 6 months, pregnancy or breast-feeding, alcohol or drug abuse, and allergy to substances present in the vaccines.
Cases were associated with tick bites and receipt of blood products.
Upon receipt, the blood was stored at −80 °C until cyanide analysis was performed.
