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.
Mohammad Mokhber: Who is Iran’s acting president?
REVEALED: The truth about viral food influencer Eddie Abbew
Georgia Steel risks an awkward run
Children addicted to tech including smartphones are more at risk of psychosis, study suggests
Revealed: Brit tourist, 19, subjected to sex attack in Majorca 'was gang
Ruapehu Alpine Lifts gets $7m bailout from government
Forget what you saw in Sex and the City! Most singletons are actually introverts, study finds
Forget what you saw in Sex and the City! Most singletons are actually introverts, study finds
Saudi Arabia is going to sponsor the WTA women's tennis rankings under a new partnership
What REALLY happened the night of OJ Simpson and Kris Jenner allegedly hooked up in the hot tub