LONDON (AP) — British authorities and the country’s public health service knowingly exposed tens of thousands of patients to deadly infections through contaminated blood and blood products, and hid the truth about the disaster for decades, an inquiry into the U.K.’s infected blood scandal found Monday.
An estimated 3,000 people in the United Kingdom are believed to have died and many others were left with lifelong illnesses after receiving blood or blood products tainted with HIV or hepatitis in the 1970s to the early 1990s.
The scandal is widely seen as the deadliest disaster in the history of Britain’s state-run National Health Service since its inception in 1948.
Former judge Brian Langstaff, who chaired the inquiry, slammed successive governments and medical professionals for “a catalogue of failures” and refusal to admit responsibility to save face and expense. He found that deliberate attempts were made to conceal the scandal, and there was evidence of government officials destroying documents.
'Constantly learning' Imanaga off to impressive start with the Chicago Cubs
China’s first national botanical garden to take shape in Beijing
Shooting injures 2 at Missouri high school graduation ceremony
Huangguoshu Waterfall transformed into misty wonderland in SW China's Guizhou
Kunming Zoo welcomes a newborn Asian elephant calf
Historical community grows with new vitality in China's Guangdong
‘The Blue Angels,’ filmed for IMAX, puts viewers in the ‘box’ with the elite flying squad
Scenery of Baiyangdian Lake in Xiongan New Area, N China's Hebei
Supreme Court rejects an appeal from a Canadian man once held at Guantanamo
Scenery of azalea blossoms in Zhalantun City, N China