Blood banks need donations should Zika quarantines take effect

Should even a single case of the dreaded Zika virus hit Manatee County, health officials could ban blood donations by anyone living in the same ZIP code as the infected individual. Anyone carrying the virus who is bitten by a certain species of mosquitoes would spread Zika to the blood-suckers other sting victim.

The executive director of the SunCoast Blood Bank worries ZIP code quarantines would reduce the blood supply as donors residing in the infected area will not be allowed to donate for 30 days. Blood expires after only last 42 days on the shelf. Blood banks want to be fully stocked before a quarantine occurs.

Neither Manatee nor Sarasota have reported a case, and all of Florida's 82 cases of Zika are travel-related. But officials expect home-grown cases to crop up. Fortunately, the virus is rarely fatal and the symptoms -- fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes -- usually do not require hospital care.

Remember, too, pregnant women and those intending to bear a child are most at risk as Zika can infect the fetus and possibly cause serious birth defect.

Today, though, please donate blood to any bank.

This story was originally published April 9, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Blood banks need donations should Zika quarantines take effect ."