INTRODUCTION

Medical conditions may have direct medicolegal implications. This chapter explains in detail the background to blood-borne viruses in terms of incidences and impact from a medicolegal perspective. The serendipitous discovery, by Blumberg 1965, of the so-called Australia antigen (now known as hepatitis B surface antigen) and its association with serum hepatitis heralded the dawn of a new era – the recognition that blood and/or other body fluids can transmit infection. Since then there has been an increased awareness amongst healthcare professionals and lay people alike about infections from other blood-borne viruses (BBVs) – Hepatitis D Virus (HDV), the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) – and their potentially fatal complications. Doctors have a duty of care to their patients, to educate and wherever possible treat such infections. They also need to prevent the spread of infection by protecting others who might be placed at risk. In some situations issues of consent and confidentiality may arise leading to ethical dilemmas.

In 1889 the Infectious Disease (Notification) Act was introduced in England and Wales to identify and prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Over time certain diseases were eradicated and others were added. The Public Health (Control of Diseases) Act 1984 requires the statutory notification of cholera, plague, relapsing fever, small pox, typhus and food poisoning.