Zika Virus Update - Wait 28 days to donate blood after visiting Zika areas
Dr K K Aggarwal The American Red Cross has asked people to avoid donating blood, if they have traveled to the Caribbean or Latin American countries in the last 28 days. Blood donors who develop symptoms of Zika virus infection, should contact the Red Cross within 2 weeks so that their blood can be quarantined. The announcement from the American Red Cross follows a similar recommendation by the American Association of Blood Banks, which says the virus is believed to remain in the blood for less than 28 days. On Wednesday, 3rd February, the Canadian Blood Services directed that anyone who has travelled outside of Canada, the continental United States and Europe will now be temporarily ineligible to give blood for 3 weeks. This 21-day waiting period is also applicable to cord blood and stem cell donors who have travelled to affected areas. Currently, blood banks test for diseases including HIV, hepatitis B, West Nile virus and the malaria parasite. There are no commercial tests for Zika virus. The Red Cross only collects blood from people who are "healthy and feeling well at the time of donation." However, according to the WHO, four out of five people with Zika virus infection do not have any symptoms. And, those who do have symptoms, often report mild symptoms, including low grade fever, rash, conjunctivitis, joint pain and headache. During an outbreak of Zika in French Polynesia from 2013 to 2014, the Zika virus was found in 3% of asymptomatic blood donors, according to a study published in the journal Eurosurveillance in April 2014. Dengue fever, a virus spread through the same Aedes mosquito that transmits Zika, is known to spread through blood transfusion.
Dr K K Aggarwal The American Red Cross has asked people to avoid donating blood, if they have traveled to the Caribbean or Latin American countries in the last 28 days. Blood donors who develop symptoms of Zika virus infection, should contact the Red Cross within 2 weeks so that their blood can be quarantined. The announcement from the American Red Cross follows a similar recommendation by the American Association of Blood Banks, which says the virus is believed to remain in the blood for less than 28 days. On Wednesday, 3rd February, the Canadian Blood Services directed that anyone who has travelled outside of Canada, the continental United States and Europe will now be temporarily ineligible to give blood for 3 weeks. This 21-day waiting period is also applicable to cord blood and stem cell donors who have travelled to affected areas. Currently, blood banks test for diseases including HIV, hepatitis B, West Nile virus and the malaria parasite. There are no commercial tests for Zika virus. The Red Cross only collects blood from people who are "healthy and feeling well at the time of donation." However, according to the WHO, four out of five people with Zika virus infection do not have any symptoms. And, those who do have symptoms, often report mild symptoms, including low grade fever, rash, conjunctivitis, joint pain and headache. During an outbreak of Zika in French Polynesia from 2013 to 2014, the Zika virus was found in 3% of asymptomatic blood donors, according to a study published in the journal Eurosurveillance in April 2014. Dengue fever, a virus spread through the same Aedes mosquito that transmits Zika, is known to spread through blood transfusion.
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