Clinical trial site intercepts first unit of infected blood.

Roche Diagnostics Corp. said its TaqScreen West Nile Virus Test has successfully identified a unit of blood with confirmed West Nile virus infection. The infected blood was intercepted at Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center in Houston, Texas. The site began screening newly donated blood for West Nile virus on June 18, 2003. With the TaqScreen West Nile Virus Test, Roche introduced the first North American nucleic acid blood screening system to fully automate specimen processing, amplification and detection, important features for testing sites trying to keep up with increased screening requirements. The test uses Roche's highly sensitive polymerase chain reaction technology to detect the genetic material of the virus itself, in blood donated by people who may feel fine.