Zika virus leads to scarcity in blood supply
The toll of the Zika virus now reaches beyond the people infected with it. Donations to some blood centers have declined precipitously after the federal government's recommendation that those who travel to areas where the virus is active hold off on giving blood for a month after returning.
At some post-spring-break blood drives, as many as 30 percent of donors were deferred because they had traveled to areas where Zika is being transmitted, said Andrea Fagan, Indiana Blood Center director of public relations. In addition, fewer people have been visiting local donor centers.
In April the center fell about 400 units short of its monthly goal of 10,000 units. At the advice of the Food and Drug Administration, the center began screening donors for Zika-area travel in March.
“That’s of concern,” Fagan said. “It doesn’t sound like a lot when you quantify it that way, but those are potentially 400 patients that didn’t get blood.”
To compensate for the loss, Indiana Blood Center officials have been asking donors planning a trip to an area where Zika is active, which includes the Caribbean, Mexico, Puerto Rico and much of Central and South America, to donate before they go.
In addition, they are putting a plea out to donors who have not traveled to give to help restock the dwindling supplies.
“It’s a two-pronged approach,” said Dr. Julie Cruz, the center’s associate medical director. “The biggest thing that we want to let donors know is to plan for Zika travel and to let the donors who aren’t traveling know that we need them.”
Although Zika is rarely deadly, it can cause birth defects if a pregnant woman becomes infected. So health officials have advised pregnant women not to travel to places where Zika is active. Because Zika also can be transmitted through sex, they also recommend any partner of a pregnant woman who potentially has been exposed to Zika take measures to protect the fetus from infection.
The Indiana Blood Center also is asking people who have had sexual contact with a man who has been in a Zika area in the past three months to refrain from donating as well in the 28 days after that sexual contact. The virus can lurk longer in the testes.
Only about 20 percent of people infected with Zika have symptoms, so the virus may be in the blood of those who have traveled without them even realizing they could pass it on through a transfusion, Cruz said. Brazil has seen two cases of probable transmission through transfusion.
American Red Cross officials say it’s difficult to determine whether people who have traveled to areas where Zika is active are self-deferring. Between March 14 and April 30, less than 1 percent of would-be donors had to be turned away, according to a statement from the national office of the American Red Cross. Officials at the Indiana office said they had seen similar numbers.
Blood centers do have other travel-related deferrals in place. People who travel to areas where malaria has been active, for instance, cannot donate for a year after their return.
What you need to know now about Zika virus in Indiana
Experts are recommending additional caution for travelers because the mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus bite during the day. The mosquitoes that carry malaria bite at night.
“We don’t have the flexibility that we normally have,” Cruz said. “If you were on a cruise ship and got off the boat, you’re OK for malaria, but this is a much broader, a much stricter deferral. … This is the first one that has such a broad area to define, and it’s continuing to expand.”
Health officials are watching closely to catch Zika as soon as possible should it jump to the continental United States. Most experts believe that southern Florida, Texas or New Orleans are the most likely places for it to appear first.
Even if Zika does crop up in one of those areas, local health officials still think it’s unlikely Indianapolis would see cases of local transmission. Still, they’re keeping watch.
The Indiana State Department of Health runs a mosquito surveillance program each summer, testing for West Nile virus. But this summer it’s not just about West Nile.
“We will be looking extra hard for the species of mosquitoes that are capable of carrying the Zika virus,” said Jennifer Brown, state public health veterinarian.
One of the two mosquito species known to carry Zika, the Asian tiger mosquito, is found in Indiana, but it’s not the primary species responsible for transmitting the disease in humans. State health officials also will be watching for the yellow fever mosquito, the prime Zika culprit.
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State health officials won’t be testing any insects for the disease, Brown said.
“Testing of mosquitoes for Zika virus is not thought to be the most effective way to look for the virus,” Brown said. “We will be looking for disease in people first.”
The mosquito control program run by the Marion County Public Health Department has purchased special traps to lure the two mosquito species that carry the Zika virus. Asian tiger mosquitoes have been seen here since 1986, said Matt Sinsko, coordinator for mosquito control. While they are not the most common local species, they do fall in the top dozen.
“That mosquito is a difficult mosquito to catch and monitor, and it’s a difficult mosquito to control,” Sinsko said. “We’re going to try to do a better job of collecting that mosquito and recording where it is in the county.”
This year, the mosquito control program bought 10 portable traps that are more likely to appeal to the two Zika-carrying species than the traps they use for the species that carries West Nile.
Should the Health Department find either of the two mosquito species in an area, it will intensify mosquito control efforts there, Sinsko said.
“We certainly are keeping Zika on the radar,” he said.
Call IndyStar reporter Shari Rudavsky at (317) 444-6354. Follow her on Twitter: @srudavsky.