The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced March 7 that it is arranging and funding shipments of blood products from the continental United States to Puerto Rico to ensure an adequate supply of safe blood for island residents as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico experiences active mosquito-borne Zika transmission. The first batch of blood products arrived in Puerto Rico March 5.
In the absence of special measures to screen for infection or reduce pathogens, the risk of Zika virus transmission through blood products is considered likely based on the most current scientific evidence of how Zika virus and similar viruses (flaviviruses) are spread, and what is currently being reported about transfusion-associated infection occurring outside of the United States. Click here to read more from the American Hospital Association.
