The cost of adding Zika testing to the blood screening process is less than $10, according to officials at South Texas Blood and Tissue Center. The number of locally transmitted cases in Wynwood and Miami Beach has reached 41.
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“There is still much uncertainty regarding the nature and extent of Zika virus transmission”, Dr. Peter Marks said in a Food and Drug Administration release.
In February, the President asked Congress to fund emergency resources, including mosquito control, fast-tracking diagnostics tests and vaccines, tracking the spread of the virus, and monitoring women and babies with Zika. In Brazil, Zika has been linked to more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly, and US officials expect as many as 270 cases in Puerto Rico, where local transmission of the virus is widespread.
Florida already has seen one Zika-positive donation, although it was isolated from the blood supply.
The mosquito-borne virus is circulating in the Dominican Republic, but the man had experienced no Zika symptoms, such as fever, pink eye or rash. Previously, the requirement was limited to areas with active Zika transmission, such as Puerto Rico and two Florida counties.
Zika can also be spread through sex, and Marks said that played into the decision to expand testing.
The Food and Drug Administration plans to roll out its recommendations in stages.
The announcement comes as the outbreak in Florida, the first state with local mosquito transmission of the virus, appears to be spreading. Almost all of those in the latter group are in Puerto Rico. “We are issuing revised guidance for immediate implementation in order to help maintain the safety of the USA blood supply”.
The new advisory means all US states and territories will need to begin testing blood donations for Zika. It also has centers testing in areas of Texas that are considered at high risk for the spread of the virus, and an affiliate in Arizona testing high-risk donors. “My conversations with the vendors suggest that if all goes smoothly that goal is feasible”.
The FDA works with other federal agencies to set standards for screening, testing and handling blood donations.
Since Puerto Rico’s first Zika diagnosis last December, cases of Guillain-Barre there have dramatically increased, the CDC reported.
OneBlood, a part of America’s Blood Centers network whose coverage area includes most of Florida and smaller parts of Alabama, Georgia and SC, has been testing all collections for close to a month as part of the Roche trial, said Dr. Rita Reik, chief medical officer.
When asked if they support abortions after 20 weeks, most Americans say no. The move is “a strong step forward in protecting our nation’s blood supply”, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said in a statement.
Blood collection sites already test donations for HIV, hepatitis, West Nile virus and other blood-borne viruses.
Because the products are investigational, UCLA will need special permission from an independent ethics committee known as an Institutional Review Board, then each patient will need to sign a special consent form before receiving a transfusion.
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Dick said the case underscored the risks of traveling to countries where the virus is especially active.
