FDA officials say blood collection sites in Puerto Rico and parts of Florida are already testing for Zika. Previously, FDA had limited the requirement to Puerto Rico and two Florida counties. Estimates suggest that 4 out of 5 people infected with the Zika virus never develop symptoms, highlighting the importance blood testing on reducing the number of possible transmissions.
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Expansion of the blood donation testing comes after the mosquito-borne virus has established a foothold in the continental United States, with two areas of active infections in Miami identified, as well as Puerto Rico experiencing an epidemic of cases.
“There is still much uncertainty regarding the nature and extent of Zika virus transmission”, Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in an agency news release.
All donated blood should undergo tests for the Zika virus, which can cause birth defects, USA regulators said Friday (Aug 26), amid a mounting outbreak of the mosquito-borne virus in the United States.
In addition to protecting the nation’s blood supply, the FDA works to protect the safety of our nation’s supply of human cells, tissues, and cellular and tissue-based products; supports the development and availability of diagnostic tests that may be useful for identifying the presence of or prior exposure to the Zika virus; works with commercial and government developers to advance the development of investigational vaccines and therapeutics; and monitors for fraudulent products and false product claims related the Zika virus. Currently, it is conducting Zika tests in five southeastern states and will expand testing to four additional states in the south central and southwestern USA over the next two weeks, the organization said in a statement.
Zika is typically spread through the bite of the Aedes aegyptimosquito, but evidence has been accumulating that it can also be transmitted through sexual contact and blood transfusions, officials have said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday reported the first US case of a man spreading Zika through sex even though he never had any symptoms.
The report details the case of a Maryland man who went to the Dominican Republic, where there is a Zika outbreak.
“The Cobas Zika test is a blood-screening test for blood donations only”, Roche spokesman Bob Purcell said.
The tropical mosquito that spreads Zika and other viruses is found along the southern U.S. Friday’s directive lists 11 states that will need to begin screening blood in the next month due to their location or because of the influx of travelers from Zika outbreak countries.
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The nation’s first local, non-travel-related infection of Zika virus occurred in Puerto Rico in December. So far, there have been about 40 cases of homegrown Zika in Florida. Blood banks and donation centers adhere to those guidelines.
