The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has announced high priority interest in supporting research to evaluate the risk of and clinical impact of potential transmission of the Zika virus by transfusion.
Such research interests include but are not limited to:
- 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
Interested investigators are strongly encouraged to discuss their ideas with NHLBI by contacting them here.