Two more cases of the Zika virus in Florida are suspected to have infected local citizens who haven’t traveled outside the U.S. In the midst of this development, blood donations have been halted in two Florida counties while an investigation is underway.
USA Today reports that in total, there are four cases in the state that have surfaced. Blood collections have been stopped in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, according to the state health department. The request to temporarily cease blood donations came from the Food and Drug Administration until the blood can be tested for the Zika virus. As a precaution, the FDA is advising blood collection centers across the country to not accept any blood donations from those who’ve traveled to Miami-Dade and Broward counties within the past four weeks.
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy isn’t discouraging anyone from traveling to south Florida, but if an outbreak erupts, that could be reversed. As it stands, the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns pregnant women to avoid traveling to areas with “widespread, local and continuous transmission” of the virus.
According to NBC News, a CDC spokesman said “evidence is mounting to suggest local transmission via mosquitoes” in southern Florida, saying that the latest cases are patterns similar seen to mosquito-borne outbreaks like Chikungunya.
Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/3358625/zika-virus-outbreak-in-florida-two-more-cases-of-zika-virus-suspected-blood-donations-halted/#9pZcbBTwr7qdAI0V.99
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