The Food and Drug Administration issued the nationwide guidance Friday, essentially requiring all blood donations be tested for Zika.
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US President Barack Obama called on Congress Saturday to step up funding to combat the Zika virus, warning that delay is putting more Americans at risk.
They added: “With the presence of Zika in our region and the volume of travel by Singaporeans as well as tourists, it is inevitable that there will be imported cases of Zika into Singapore”.
Florida Surgeon General Celeste Philip said the state’s largest blood collection centers have been testing all donations for Zika since the beginning of August, when health officials confirmed the first locally transmitted case of Zika near downtown Miami. In a press release, district officials say that a woman traveled to a country with documented Zika virus transmission and then returned to Washoe County.
More than 2,500 people in the United States have been diagnosed with Zika, along with more than 9,000 in the US territories such as Puerto Rico, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most cases are travel related, though Florida has reported 43 people contracted the virus without traveling outside the state.
Blood testing for the virus, which has been linked to the birth defect microcephaly that is characterized by an abnormally small skull and brain, has occurred only in areas of Florida and Puerto Rico.
The new recommendation expands the guidance to all USA states and territories.
“There’s not been any documental local transmission by mosquitoes of Zika virus in Maryland to date”, Brooks says.
The Zika virus only causes a mild illness, with flu-like symptoms in some people.
“There is still much uncertainty regarding the nature and extent of Zika virus transmission”, said Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “We highly believe in the quality of the blood supply, and we’ll do everything to make sure it’s safe”, said Esparza.
“Protect yourself as best you can using mosquito repellent with deed, long sleeves, long trousers, and using mosquito netting as needed”, said Maxwell.
And women who are confirmed positive for Zika are urged to wait at least eight weeks before trying to get pregnant. Those states include Alabama, Arizona, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, South Carolina and Texas.
State health officials say 650 cases of Zika virus have been recorded in NY to date.
Earlier this year the agency began asking potential donors in health history questionnaires about any possible exposure to Zika they may have had.
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“Ongoing surveillance is needed to determine the risk for sexual transmission of Zika virus infection from asymptomatic persons”, the report states.
