(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a revised guidance on Friday recommending universal testing of donated blood for Zika virus in the U.S. and its territories.
The FDA recommended that all states and U.S. territories screen individual units blood with a screening test authorized for use by the FDA.
The agency had recommended in February that blood should no longer be collected from regions where the Zika virus is circulating, and that blood needed for transfusions be obtained from areas of the country without active transmission.
The FDA has authorized the emergency use of several investigational Zika screening tests, including products made by Hologic Inc (O:HOLX) and Roche Holding AG (S:ROG).
Zika was detected in Brazil last year and has since spread across the Americas. The virus poses a risk to pregnant women because it can cause severe birth defects. It has been linked to more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly in Brazil.