Mad cow disease patient gave blood to 10 others

PARIS – A donor whose blood was used to transfuse 10 people and to make medicines has been identified as France’s eighth known victim of the human equivalent of mad cow disease, health officials announced Thursday.

Authorities are working to identify the 10 recipients. Once identified, their doctors will inform them they may have been exposed to the disease, the national blood service said.

Officials would not disclose details about the person infected with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, but said he or she is still alive. Blood from the donor was also used in to make 88 batches of medicines, enough for several thousand people, officials said.

Gaze Strip: Missiles kill Hamas boss

An Israeli aircraft fired two missiles at a car traveling in the Gaza Strip Thursday, killing a senior Hamas commander who was among the government’s most-wanted fugitives for years – the latest in a series of Israeli assassinations that have weakened the militant group. Adnan al-Ghoul, a founder and the No. 2 figure of Hamas’ military wing, was killed along with a lower-ranking militant. The airstrike dealt another heavy blow to Hamas’ military wing, Izzedine al Qassam, which is responsible for attacks that have killed hundreds of Israelis during four years of fighting.

China: Gas blast kills miners

Nearly 150 miners were feared killed by a gas explosion in a coal shaft in central China, the highest recent toll in a cadence of underground tragedies in the country’s hard-pressed energy industry, the government said Thursday. The Work Safety Administration immediately pledged another crackdown on wildcat mines operating without authorization and larger mines that push production beyond a safe pace to keep up with a soaring demand for coal in China’s booming and electricity-starved economy.

North Koreans seeks refuge

Twenty-nine people claiming to be North Korean asylum seekers cut through a wire fence and fled into a South Korean school in Beijing today, a news report said. The group entered the school and identified themselves to school authorities as North Koreans who were fleeing their homeland and wanted to travel to South Korea, the South’s national news agency, Yonhap, reported. Chinese officials have allowed many asylum seekers to leave the country.

Japan: Typhoon death toll rises

Rescue workers and Japanese troops waded through sludge early Friday to search for victims of mudslides in Japan’s deadliest typhoon in over a decade that ripped across the country, killing 67 and leaving 21 missing. Typhoon Tokage, the record eighth typhoon to hit Japan this year, unleashed towering waves and rapid mudslides that demolished homes and flooded dozens of communities when the storm slammed into western Japan Wednesday.

Cuba: Castro injured in fall

Cuban President Fidel Castro’s advancing age – and ultimately his mortality – were brought home Thursday after he fractured a knee and arm when he tripped and fell at a public event. In a communist society where the 78-year-old leader has played a larger-than-life role for more than four decades, the tumble was the latest reminder that Cuba’s commander in chief is an aging man who will not live forever – with an elderly brother as his designated successor.

Austria: Iran cool to nuclear deal

Iran is unlikely to accept European incentives aimed at getting it to suspend uranium enrichment, diplomats said Thursday, raising the prospect of a showdown next month between Tehran and the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency. Envoys from Britain, France and Germany offered civilian nuclear technology and a trade deal to the Iranians in a private meeting at the French mission to international organizations in Vienna. But Western diplomats said they doubt Iran will back down easily.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Customers enter and exit the Costco on Dec. 2, 2022, in Lake Stevens. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Costco stores could be impacted by looming truck driver strike threat

Truck drivers who deliver groceries and produce to Costco warehouses… Continue reading

Two Washington State ferries pass along the route between Mukilteo and Clinton as scuba divers swim near the shore Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ferry system increases ridership by a half million in 2024

Edmonds-Kingston route remains second-busiest route in the system.

Pharmacist Nisha Mathew prepares a Pfizer COVID booster shot for a patient at Bartell Drugs on Broadway on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett lawmakers back universal health care bill, introduced in Olympia

Proponents say providing health care for all is a “fundamental human right.” Opponents worry about the cost of implementing it.

x
Edmonds police shooting investigation includes possibility of gang violence

The 18-year-old victim remains in critical condition as of Friday morning.

Outside of the updated section of Lake Stevens High School on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020 in Lake Stevens, Wa. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lake Stevens, Arlington school measures on Feb. 11 ballot

A bond in Lake Stevens and a levy in Arlington would be used to build new schools.

Robin Cain with 50 of her marathon medals hanging on a display board she made with her father on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Running a marathon is hard. She ran one in every state.

Robin Cain, of Lake Stevens, is one of only a few thousand people to ever achieve the feat.

People line up to grab food at the Everett Recovery Cafe on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Coffee, meals and compassion are free at the Everett Recovery Cafe

The free, membership-based day center offers free coffee and meals and more importantly, camaraderie and recovery support.

Devani Padron, left, Daisy Ramos perform during dance class at Mari's Place Monday afternoon in Everett on July 13, 2016. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Mari’s Place helps children build confidence and design a better future

The Everett-based nonprofit offers free and low-cost classes in art, music, theater and dance for children ages 5 to 14.

The Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Snohomish River on Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett water, sewer rates could jump 43% by 2028

The rate hikes would pay for improvements to the city’s sewer infrastructure.

The bond funded new track and field at Northshore Middle School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 in Bothell, Washington. (Courtesy of Northshore School District)
Northshore School District bond improvements underway

The $425 million bond is funding new track and field complexes, playgrounds and phase one of two school replacements.

Lake Stevens Sewer District wastewater treatment plant. (Lake Stevens Sewer District)
Lake Stevens sewer district trial delayed until April

The dispute began in 2021 and centers around when the city can take over the district.

A salmon carcass lays across willow branches in Edgecomb Creek on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025 in Arlington, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Tribes: State fish passage projects knock down barriers for local efforts

Court-ordered projects have sparked collaboration for salmon habitat restoration

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.