Health officials say she recently traveled to a region of Mexico where Zika has been known to be transmitted. “At this time, the recommendation for testing the entire blood supply will help ensure that safe blood is available for all individuals who might need transfusion”.
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued emergency authorization to combat the Zika virus using a drug called Roche as samples are tested from blood donations.
“Alll infants born to women with evidence of Zika virus infection during pregnancy should have their hearing tested, including infants who appear normal at birth”, they wrote.
The spread of the Zika virus across tropical Southeast Asia is likely to be significantly under-reported as local health authorities fail to conduct adequate screening, regional experts said on Monday.
Lee and others also found a drug that treats tapeworm may also stop the virus from spreading.
The mosquito-borne Zika virus has triggered an epidemic of birth defects that leave newborns with abnormally small heads and underdeveloped brains.
As state officials scramble to spray for mosquitoes and contain a potential Zika virus outbreak, a drug that could be used to combat the infection may already be at our fingertips.
Roche’s Zika test now can be used to screen patients that meet CDC criteria, including fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes. Doctors recommended blood testing in all 50 states, but many agree Southern states, particularly those closest to Florida, are vital.
How the Zika virus, first identified in 1947, came to the Americas in 2015. Muth said the person had traveled to an area where the Zika virus is present.
The Red Cross now conducts blood donor screening testing for Zika virus under an investigational study in five southeastern states – Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and SC – that are believed to be at greatest risk of local mosquito transmission, said Susan Stramer, vice president of Scientific Affairs at the American Red Cross.
In July, Florida’s Miami-Dade County reported its own first case of a local mosquito-transmitted Zika infection.
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The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the state health department first identified a one-square mile area of Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood on July 29 as the only place in the nation with active spread of Zika by mosquitoes.
