Suspected Zika outbreak in South Florida halts blood drives

On July 27, the Food and Drug Administration asked all blood banks in South Florida’s Miami-Dade and Broward counties to halt blood drives immediately until donations are tested for the Zika infection. The request follows the nation’s first suspected local outbreak of the virus.

Using an FDA approved test, the blood banks said they had began the donation screenings on July 29, the Miami Herald reports.Spokeswoman Jennifer Piedra at Jackson Health System, Miami-Dade’s public hospital network, said the temporary suspension of blood collection would not hinder hospital care. Hospital blood supplies are sufficient, according to reports.