The Food and Drug Administration now recommends that all blood donations in the U.S.be screened for the Zika virus.
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It is normal for there to be little to no symptoms of the Zika virus, so Dr. Todd recommends having your partner tested before having intercourse if they have traveled to a Zika-affected area.
“In Brazil, Zika has been linked to more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly, and U.S. officials expect as many as 270 cases in Puerto Rico, where local transmission of the virus is widespread”.
“Given the frequency of travel of individuals within the United States, there is the risk that people without symptoms infected with Zika virus could donate blood and thereby transmit Zika virus”, Marks said.
The FDA first issued guidance on February 16 recommending that only areas with active Zika virus transmission screen donated Whole Blood and blood components for Zika virus, use pathogen-reduction devices, or halt blood collection and obtain Whole Blood and blood components from areas of the US without active virus transmission. “It will give very good information about the exact proportion of pregnant women infected with Zika that can develop birth defects”.
“During Congress’s vacation, we have identified 43 cases of locally acquired Zika in four Florida counties”, Scott said earlier this week.
Zika is mainly spread by mosquitoes. It is also tied to a rare autoimmune disorder called Guillain-Barre syndrome.
“From the reports WHO received from national health authorities, there have so far been no laboratory confirmed cases of Zika virus in spectators, athletes or anyone associated with the Olympics”, WHO said.
Expanded blood supply testing “will be in effect until the risk of transfusion transmission of Zika virus is reduced”, the FDA said.
One Zika-positive blood donation, though, was recently intercepted in Florida, Marks said Friday.
“We have not had any cases here locally”, she said. Much of the state’s focus on local transmissions has been on Miami’s Wynwood area and on an area in Miami Beach.
More Zika cases could be imported into the city after the first case was reported on Thursday night, a top health official warned on Saturday.
These states are in proximity to areas where Zika is actively spreading via mosquitoes or where there are a significant number of cases related to other exposures, including sexual transmission.
Though the virus has been in South America for more than a year, some scientists doubted that it would ever come to the United States. Adding the Zika test to screening has been estimated to cost less than $10.
There are 584 pregnant women in the mainland United States with lab evidence of Zika infection, and 812 in the U.S. territories.
“This is an worldwide health crisis, the responsibility of the federal government”, he said.
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While we are still learning about Zika, we do know there are ways to minimize your risk if it does appear in your community, including protecting yourself from mosquito bites by wearing long sleeves and trousers, staying in places with air conditioning and window and door screens, and wearing EPA-registered insect repellants.
