FDA allows use of investigational test to screen blood donations for Zika

The Food and Drug Administration today announced an investigational test to screen blood donations for Zika virus in areas with active mosquito-borne transmission of the virus. Once screening using the investigational test begins, blood establishments in Puerto Rico may resume collecting donations of whole blood and blood components, the agency said. “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 Peter Marks, M.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “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.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released new maps of the United States that show the approximate and potential locations of the two species of mosquitoes that are associated with Zika transmission.