The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended that blood no longer be collected from regions where the Zika virus is circulating, and that blood needed for transfusions be obtained from areas of the US without active transmission.
The agency said blood banks can continue collecting and preparing platelets and plasma if an FDA-approved pathogen-reduction technology is used. Current pathogen-reduction technology is not approved to treat whole red blood.
"Based on the best available evidence, we believe the new recommendations will help reduce the risk of collecting blood and blood components from donors who may be infected with the Zika virus, Dr Peter Marks, director of the FDA's biologics division said in a statement.
The agency said it is also prioritising the development of blood screening tests to identify the presence of the virus in the blood, and to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of experimental vaccines and drugs that might be developed.
The Zika virus is mainly spread by mosquitoes. It has reached more than 30 countries and been linked to thousands of birth defects in Latin America.
