Zika-affected areas can screen blood with experimental test: FDA

Puerto Rico and other areas with active transmission of Zika virus can use an experimental test to screen local blood donations for the mosquito-borne disease that’s been linked to serious birth defects, the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday.

Earlier this year, the FDA said places where Zika is circulating should get their blood samples from parts of the U.S. where the virus where it isn’t spreading locally. As a result, the administration arranged to ship blood products from the mainland to Puerto Rico, which has reported more than 250 locally acquired cases.

Now the island of 3.5 million people can resume collections of its own blood, so long as it uses the test manufactured by Roche Molecular Systems Inc. in New Jersey.

“The availability of an investigational test to screen donated blood for Zika virus is an important step forward in maintaining the safety of the nation’s blood supply, especially for those U.S. territories already experiencing active transmission,” said Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

Zika is a little-known virus that festered for decades in Africa and the Asia-Pacific region before globe-hopping to Latin America, where it has spread to more than 20 countries.

Its rapid transmission has been tied to a sharp uptick in the number of babies born with abnormally small heads, or microcephaly, and Guillian-Barre syndrome, which can lead to paralysis.

So far, the Centers for Disease Control has documented 273 travel-related cases in the U.S. Though Zika isn’t transmitting locally within the continental U.S., scientists said that could change once temperatures climb.

The Aedes aegypti mosquito is found in several southern states, and the more-prevalent Aedes albopictus mosquito also is capable of carrying the virus, so parts of the mainland may need to use the blood-screening tool.

“In the future, should Zika virus transmission occur in other areas, blood collection establishments will be able to continue to collect blood and use the investigational screening test, minimizing disruption to the blood supply,” Dr. Marks said.

In February, the FDA said people who either experienced symptoms of Zika or traveled to places where the virus is spreading should refrain from donating blood for four weeks.

The deferral also applies to potential donors who have had sexual contact with someone who traveled to a Zika-affected country within the last three months.

President Obama has requested $1.9 billion in emergency funding to combat the Zika threat at home and aboard, though congressional Republicans say the White House should spend money left over from the Ebola fight before it seeks a massive influx of new money.