(Nacho Doce/Reuters)The Food and Drug Administration on Friday took the radical step of recommending that blood donations in all 50 states and U.S. territories be screened for the Zika virus. The area had the first confirmed cases of local Zika transmission. “Given the frequency of travel of individuals within the United States, there is the risk that people without symptoms infected with Zika virus could donate blood and thereby transmit Zika virus,” Marks said. [Heartbreaking images of how Zika damages babies' brains]The FDA guidance affects testing of all donated whole blood and blood components such as plasma and platelets in the United States and territories. One possible complication is that the only blood screening test available for Zika is experimental.

Source: Washington Post August 26, 2016 17:41 UTC