The Zika virus outbreak, which is commonly spread through mosquito bites, continues to cause more problems and poses an area of concern in Latin America as new modes of virus transmission are surfacing. Cases of Zika infection through blood transfusion were recently reported by health officials in Brazil.
According to Reuters, two cases of Zika transmission from the donated blood of people who have been bitten by the Zika-carrying Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes have been confirmed. One case was confirmed by the Blood Center at the Sao Paulo state University of Campinas and the other was confirmed by the health department of Campinas.
"The two cases can be considered transmission of the virus through blood transfusion, with greater certainty in the first because we did genetic sequencing comparing the virus in the donor and to the virus in the recipient," Blood Center director Marcelo Addas Carvalho told Reuters.
These recent reports of Zika infection through blood transfusion have forced some countries into implementing stricter guidelines and procedures for blood donations to avoid the further spread of the Zika virus.
Another possible mode of transmission for the virus aside from Aedes Aegypti mosquito bites and blood transfusion from infected donors is through sexual contact, as reported by health officials in Texas. Some countries such as Brazil, Colombia and El Salvador have even advised their citizens to avoid pregnancy for the next few months in order to prevent the virus' complications.
According to Independent, there is great evidence of a link between Zika virus infection in pregnant woman and birth defects in their baby such as microcephaly, a condition that involves deformities in the brain of the baby. "Until more is known, women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant should take extra care to protect themselves from mosquito bites," advised the World Health Organization.
