BHB Advisory: Zika Virus & Blood Donation

With the Zika Virus recently classified as a ‘Public Health Emergency of International Concern,’ the Bermuda Hospitals Board Blood is requesting anyone who donated blood after travelling anywhere in Mexico, Central or South America, the Caribbean or elsewhere in the tropics in the previous 28 days and who has developed two or more of the symptoms to notify the Centre as soon as possible.

The BHB said, “The World Health Organisation Emergency Committee recently classified the Zika Virus [ZIKV] as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

“In an abundance of caution, the Bermuda Hospitals Board Blood Donor Center is requesting anyone who may have donated blood after travelling anywhere in Mexico, Central or South America, the Caribbean or elsewhere in the tropics [for example, in the islands of the South Pacific] in the previous 28 days and who has developed two or more of the symptoms listed below any time within the next 14 days, to notify the Centre as soon as possible at 236-5067.

• Fever of 100°F or higher
• Muscle and/or joint aches or weakness
• Headache
• Eye pain including conjunctivitis [pink eye]
• A rash

“There have been no confirmed cases of ZIKV in Bermuda however, considering the volume of international travel within the region and the presence in Bermuda of a potentially competent vector for ZIKV transmission, a strategic approach to surveillance to increase our chances of early identification of the virus has been implemented.”

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