What we have here is another example of a callous disregard for women’s health and, ironically, for the unborn children that millions of them are carrying, even as the Zika virus spreads.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now encourages people returning from places with active Zika transmission to use protection during sex for at least eight weeks after they return.
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. There are now 30 reported.
The Food and Drug Administration has recommended screening the entire United States blood supply for the Zika virus, it announced today, noting that screening donated blood is already underway in Florida and Puerto Rico.
Since there is “still much uncertainty regarding the nature and extent of Zika virus transmission”, the recommendation for testing all donated blood “will help ensure that safe blood is available” for everyone, said Peter Marks, director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
She said people who need a blood transfusion need to balance the risk of not getting transfused against their perceived risk of contracting Zika.
Bonfils said they have been pre-screening blood donors to see if they’ve recently traveled to an area where Zika is active, like parts of the Caribbean and South America – and Florida, which has more than 40 locally-transmitted Zika cases.
The primary concern is pregnant women and women who plan to become pregnant because Zika is known to cause microcephaly, which stunts the brains and skulls of fetuses in infected women.
The local Health Officer also shared recent findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine that documents a woman infected with the Zika virus during her pregnancy. Most of the cases within the continental USA involved individuals who contracted the virus while traveling in another country, while most of the Puerto Rico cases were locally acquired. Fifty-six suspected cases of Guillain-Barre were reported the first seven months of 2016, of which 34 were linked to infection with Zika or an unspecified flavivirus. It can cause a relatively mild illness, with fever, rash and joint pain.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in June found that a surprisingly high percentage of donors had signs of active infection with the Zika virus.
Zika is spread primarily through mosquito bites, but can also be spread other ways, including through blood transfusions. Testing of donated blood is already underway in Florida and Puerto Rico, as well as in other areas, and it has shown to be beneficial in identifying donations infected with Zika virus.
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.
Within 12 weeks, blood facilities in all states should be testing donations for Zika, the FDA says.
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“When the FDA issues guidance it typically uses the word ‘recommendations.’ In some cases, such as this one, the information represents the equivalent of a requirement”, said FDA press officer Tara Goodin.
