Testing for Zika Isn’t the Only Way to Keep the Blood Supply Safe Wired
- Previously only recommended Zika areas for testing, now extended to the entire US
- Testing is very costly: $150 per unit of blood
- 80 percent of Zika infections are asymptomatic
- . . “in Puerto Rico, CDC scientists have found that nearly 1 percent of blood collected from asymptomatic donors tested positive for Zika.”
- Killing all pathogens in plasma is much lower cost, and has been used in Europe for over a decade
Cannot kill the pathogens in red blood cells however