The agency’s move to expand its previous guideline for blood screening comes after Florida officials on Tuesday announced the first case of Zika transmitted by mosquitoes in Pinellas County, some 265 miles from Miami, where the first locally transmitted US cases were reported.
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The tropical mosquito that spreads Zika and other viruses is found along the southern U.S. Friday’s directive lists 11 states that will need to begin screening blood in the next month due to their location or because of the influx of travelers from Zika outbreak countries.
Exposure to the Zika virus during the first trimester, including before a woman even realizes she is pregnant, has been linked to a devastating birth defect called microcephaly, in which the infant is born with a small head and underdeveloped brain. The Maryland man had traveled to the Dominican Republic, one of the many countries in the Caribbean and Latin America hit with a Zika outbreak. But his sex partner, who hadn’t traveled, did get sick with Zika and recovered.
Doctors believe Zika spread from someone with no symptoms is extremely rare.
They said the case is not reason enough to change health advice to couples.
Vijay Kumar, an analyst for Evercor ISI, estimates that the FDA’s recommendation for Zika universal testing “will add at least $30-million to revenues, which are likely to be split between Roche and Hologic”.
Within 12 weeks, blood facilities in all states should be testing donations for Zika, the FDA says.
It is typically transmitted through bites from the Aedes species of mosquitoes.
The nation’s first local, non-travel-related infection of Zika virus occurred in Puerto Rico in December.
They are aggressive feeders, commonly biting multiple people in quick succession, fueling the spread of the virus.
Scientists have found Zika can be transmitted sexually – from both men and women.
As of Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has documented 29 “locally acquired” Zika cases in the United States and 2,487 travel-acquired cases of Zika.
A mother can pass the virus to her unborn baby during pregnancy.
Her male partner had been bitten by mosquitoes during his travel but had no signs of Zika infection, which typically include rash, red eyes, fever and malaise, He told officials he had only felt exhausted, which he attributed to travel. “Our recommendations had considered the transmission from a person who seems otherwise healthy, because four out of five people who are infected with Zika won’t develop symptoms”.
There is no specific treatment for the virus and there is now no vaccine.
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Eliminating breeding spots and controlling mosquito populations can help prevent the spread of the virus.
