FDA advises Zika screening for all United States blood centers

The Food and Drug Administration issued the nationwide guidance Friday, essentially requiring all blood donations be tested for Zika.

AUSTIN, Texas-Blood centers across Texas are gearing up to test for the Zika virus.

“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”, said the FDA statement.

The FDA last month ordered blood banks in Florida’s two most densely populated counties – Miami-Dade County and Broward County – to stop collecting blood.

As of Wednesday, 8,746 people in Puerto Rico have been infected with the virus locally, along with dozens of additional cases of local transmission in the U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the suggestion will likely present a significant challenge for some blood banks and for the third party laboratories that perform much of the blood screening nationally, some specialists said.

Minister for Health, Mr Gan Kim Yong, said, “MOH and NEA are working together to carry out vector control and testing of residents in that area with fever and rashes so as to reduce the risk of further spread”.

The results, however, are being confirmed through further tests, the statement added. After visiting a general practitioner on 26 August, she was referred to the Communicable Diseases Centre (CDC) at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where she was tested positive for Zika on 27 August.

The Zika virus is spread by mosquitoes through their bites.

America’s Blood Centers, a network of 63 blood centers with 600 donation sites in 45 U.S. states, is now testing for Zika primarily in Florida, where local transmission has been reported. Most infected people don’t get sick.

“Because of the complex processes and technology MEDIC uses to ensure our blood products are as safe as possible, changes can’t be made overnight”, MEDIC Chief Operating Officer Eva Quinley said.

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.

Such testing also helped spot one unit of Zika-tainted blood in the past few weeks.

Within 12 weeks, blood facilities in all states should be testing donations for Zika, the FDA says.

In New York City, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene this week launched a new, interactive mosquito information website as part of the three-year, $21 million effort to keep the Zika virus from spreading. “We are issuing revised guidance for immediate implementation in order to help maintain the safety of the USA blood supply”.

“The Zika testing, it’s just under $10, which is quite significant”, Hooper said.

He urged Congress to return from its recess to authorize $1.9 billion in funding to fight the Zika virus on a national level.