The United States has shipped blood to Puerto Rico to help with the island's fight against Zika, the mosquito-borne virus that has been spreading throughout the Caribbean and Latin America.
The Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement on Monday that the first batch of blood reached Puerto Rico on Saturday, March 5. The HHS will be arranging and funding more shipments, which are being provided by the American Red Cross, the Blood Centers of America and America's Blood Centers, within the near future.
"Availability of safe blood products for the residents of Puerto Rico is a major priority for HHS," said Karen B. DeSalvo, the HHS acting assistant secretary for health. "We are arranging the importation of blood products from areas unaffected by local Zika transmission to ensure the safety of Puerto Rico's blood supply."
The HHS said that without screening measures in place, Puerto Rican health officials cannot really know if their local blood supply is contaminated with the virus. Since current evidence suggests that Zika, like many other viruses, can be transmitted through a blood transfusion, the HHS does not want to put anyone's life at risk. The virus has been linked to birth defect microcephaly and Guillain-Barre Syndrome.
The blood will be collected in the continental U.S. where there have been no confirmed cases of Zika. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stated that all blood should be collected this way until some kind of screening test for the virus becomes available.
"In areas with active Zika virus transmission, the FDA recommends that whole blood and blood components for transfusion be obtained from areas of the U.S. without active transmission," the FDA's guidance read.
The FDA also issued new blood donation guidance for people from areas that have not had a case of an active Zika infection.
"In areas without active Zika virus transmission, the FDA recommends that donors at risk for Zika virus infection be deferred for four weeks," the FDA wrote in a news release last month. "Individuals considered to be at risk include: those who have had symptoms suggestive of Zika virus infection during the past four weeks, those who have had sexual contact with a person who has traveled to, or resided in, an area with active Zika virus transmission during the prior three months, and those who have traveled to areas with active transmission of Zika virus during the past four weeks."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently has an Alert Level 2 travel warning for Puerto Rico. The warning advises all travelers to practice enhanced safety precautions.
