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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 4 Hansard (21 April) . . Page.. 1078 ..
the death has not been related to hepatitis C but to the trauma or condition that warranted the blood transfusion in the first instance. While only limited perusal of cause of death has taken place in the ACT, this has been the case here also.
The Commonwealth has made clear that it will only contribute to the settlement of claims on the following basis:
� evidence of the liability of the ARCBS;
� agreement of the Commonwealth to the settlement offered on each individual case; and
� entry into a settlement scheme with all litigants.
The Commonwealth has also insisted on a consistent approach with all states if the states wish to obtain the Commonwealth contribution of 40% of settlement costs. At this time, the Commonwealth has indicated that it will not contribute to any settlement to the spouse of a deceased person.
As previously stated, the ACT is required to be consistent with other states in the application of eligibility guidelines for compensation under the financial assistance scheme. While prevention guidelines warn an infected person against sharing toothbrushes or razors in the home, the virus will not be spread through normal family contact and is rarely transmitted through sex.
There is however, around a 6% chance of a HCV positive mother transmitting the virus to a child through contact with blood during the birth process. This risk would increase if the mother is HIV positive or has another sexually transmitted disease. While there have been no reported cases to date, it may be possible for a breastfeeding mother to transfer the virus to a child if she has cracked nipples which would expose the baby to blood. The hepatitis C virus has not been found in samples of breast milk taken from hepatitis C positive women.
No state has yet experienced a case of vertical transmission but it is likely that this situation would be compensable.
In summary, any individual applying to have their case assessed for compensation will be given that opportunity, however, in the case of horizontal transmission, it is unlikely that the case would be compensable due to the difficulty in establishing the forensic link to prove transmission.
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