The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today expanded its recommendation for testing blood donations and blood components for Zika virus beyond Puerto Rico and Florida to include all of the United States and its territories.
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The FDA urged centers in 11 states to start following the new recommendations as soon as possible and no later than four weeks after the announcement. Also, the FDA said facilities can use an FDA-approved pathogen-reduction device for plasma and certain platelet products.
“There is still much uncertainty regarding the nature and extent of Zika virus transmission”, said Dr.
The FDA says this will ensure that all blood is safe for those who may need a transfusion.
In March, the FDA granted Roche approval for a clinical trial testing its Zika blood screening test in Puerto Rico, where local blood donations had been halted and blood had to be imported from the continental United States.
The trial involved five southeastern states believed to be at greatest risk for local Zika transmission.
The Red Cross issued a statement on the Zika Virus Screening.
So far, 43 cases of locally transmitted Zika have been identified in the USA, all in Florida. But infection during pregnancy can lead to severe brain-related birth defects. The developments put the state’s totals at 545 and 75, respectively.
“Over 8,000 travel associated and over 2,000 non-travel associated cases of Zika have been reported in the United States and US territories”, Marks told reporters. The team described the case in an early online report in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).
Nationwide, there are 2,517 confirmed cases of Zika virus and about 25 percent are pregnant women. Versions that look for Zika are still undergoing final FDA review.
To date, Zika has not been transmitted through blood transfusions in the U.S. The hope is to keep it that way. Serologic tests for Zika, as well as for chikungunya and dengue, were negative.
Zika’s confusing, because it can hang out in a man’s semen for months.
“There’s a sheet that lists all the areas where Zika has been prevalent, transmitted by mosquitoes and those areas are off-limits for donating blood, if you have been there in the last 28 days”, Lambert said.
Since February, U.S. blood centers have been turning away people who have recently traveled to areas with Zika outbreaks, under a previous FDA directive.
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WHO and other experts predicted the Olympics would not be a big source of Zika spread to the rest of the world. Researchers reported 1- to 8-month follow-up findings on babies who are being treated at a rehabilitation center in Sao Luis, Brazil.
