The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is recommending all blood banks and clinics, nationwide, test every single blood donation for the potentially debilitating virus.
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Two U.S. lawmakers, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro of CT and Congressman Lloyd Doggett of Texas, had recently urged the FDA to expand testing for Zika to blood banks nationwide, saying it would cost less than $10 per donor.
The cost to blood banks and medical centers is still unknown.
They are pending further confirmation tests, said the statement.
Donated blood should be tested for the Zika virus, which can cause birth defects, USA regulators warned amid a mounting outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease in the United States.
According to an FDA statement, “Expanded testing will continue to reduce the risk for transmission of Zika virus through the US blood supply and will be in effect until the risk of transfusion transmission of Zika virus is reduced”.
MOH and NEA said with the presence of Zika in the region and the volume of travel by Singaporeans as well as tourists, it was inevitable there would be imported cases of Zika into Singapore.
The patient, who works in Singapore, had not travelled to Zika-affected areas recently, hence she was likely to have been infected in Singapore. The Zika virus is transmitted primarily by the Aedes aegypti mosquito but can also be spread by sexual contact. The virus is particularly unsafe to pregnant women and future mothers as it may cause microcephaly, a neurological birth defect that can cause a newborn’s head and brain to turn out smaller than normal, among other developmental issues.
“About 80% of people who have Zika may never have symptoms”, Marks said. Some symptoms include acute onset of fever, a flat red rash and joint pain.
The blood center hopes the new regulation does not create confusion and even with the waiting period, people continue to donate blood so it can keep up with the demand. At that time, the agency advised screening blood and blood components for the virus or stopping blood collection completely in areas of active transmission.
Overall, the state has recorded 545 travel-related infections and 75 infections involving pregnant women. “The mosquito is not here, and we have had no reported cases”. As of August 24, there have been 2,517 confirmed US cases of the virus, of which 29 are actively transmitted cases, all of which occurred in two areas of Miami, Florida.
MEDIC now tests for blood-borne diseases including HIV, Chagas, Hepatitis and West Nile virus.
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The FDA has OK’d two experimental blood tests for the virus. “We carefully reviewed the information from the companies”, Marks said, “and we feel confident enough that we were able to make this recommendation”.
