The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has released five new funding opportunities for research to evaluate the risk and clinical impact of potential transmission of the Zika virus via transfusion. Research areas of interest include:
- Characterization of the prevalence of the virus among blood donors in different geographical regions
- Quantitation and dynamics of the evolution of viremia in blood donors
- Transmissibility studies in relevant animal models
- Dynamics of viremia in recipients post-transfusion
- Development of Zika screening and confirmatory assays
- Transfusion-transmission studies
- Evaluations of potential strategies to reduce or prevent Zika transmission by blood transfusion
Source: NHLBI press release, February 17, 2016.