Medic spokesman Benjamin Prijatel said the blood center has been deferring donors who have traveled to places with local transmission of Zika, including parts of South America, Central America, the Caribbean and, most recently, South Florida. It could then be transferred to the recipient through a blood transfusion.
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A man who had no idea he had Zika has given the virus to his female partner during sex, the Centers for Disease Control announced today. Furthermore, the vast majority of cases of Zika in the United States have been from travel to other countries where the virus is actively circulating.
Until now, only areas where Zika is known to be circulating – think south Florida and Puerto Rico – had to screen for the mosquito-borne disease.
DOH media and marketing manager Sarah Revell said, “Whenever a new case of Zika is confirmed, the county health department works closely with local mosquito control districts to ensure appropriate follow up occurs through spraying, searching for mosquito breeding areas and educating residents on how to protect themselves from mosquito bites”.
In the other 21 USA cases of sexual transmission, the virus was spread by someone who at some point had symptoms. On Friday, the FDA asked all US blood banks to screen blood for the virus.
The Florida Department of Health reported 15 new travel-related cases of Zika were confirmed across Florida in their daily update on Friday, including Sarasota’s second case, according to the DOH website. Public health staff would have less time to diagnose Zika cases and track the source of infections. The move is “a strong step forward in protecting our nation’s blood supply”, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said in a statement.
Exposure to the Zika virus during the first trimester, including before a woman even realizes she is pregnant, has been linked to a devastating birth defect called microcephaly, in which the infant is born with a small head and underdeveloped brain. No such cases have been reported in the United States.
“We can expect to see an increase in many types of mosquitoes after flooding, and also in the mosquitoes that carry the West Nile virus” said Welch.
INOVA hospital system has been working to set up a way to screen donated blood since May.
The FDA said all areas with active transmission in the US were in compliance with the original guidance.
An executive for America’s Blood Centers, which has more than 600 locations in the US and Canada, warned that the amount of work needed to comply with the FDA’s timeline is “titanic”.
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The FDA has authorized the emergency use of several investigational Zika screening tests, including products made by Hologic Inc and Roche Holding AG.
