Men from three Florida counties should not donate sperm because of a small risk of spreading the Zika virus, US health officials said on Monday.
The guidance had previously applied to Miami-Dade County, the only place in Florida where there is evidence the virus was spread by mosquitoes. However, infections were reported in people in South Florida who could not clearly be linked to Miami-Dade.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the advice should extend to two counties north of Miami — Broward and Palm Beach.
The recommendation applies to men who lived or traveled in those counties since June 15. Zika is mainly spread by mosquito bites but it can also be spread through sex. People can be infected without getting sick and the virus can remain in semen for months.
There is no evidence of a pregnant women being infected by Zika through a sperm donation, and such a risk is considered low, centers officials said.
Infection during pregnancy can lead to brain-related birth defects.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates sperm donations and previously advised sperm banks they should not accept donors if they had been diagnosed with Zika or had been to an area with widespread Zika within the past six months.
Sperm banks should heed the centers’ advice discouraging donations from men in the three counties, an FDA spokeswoman said.
There are 12 sperm donor banks in the three south Florida counties, centers officials said.
While blood donations can be tested for Zika, there is not a good test for semen, the FDA said.
The last case of mosquito transmission of Zika in Florida was in December last year. However, officials think mosquitoes might start spreading it again this summer. In the continental US last year, 221 people got Zika from mosquitoes, most in the Miami area.
There is no evidence that mosquitoes in Broward or Palm Beach were spreading it, said Denise Jamieson, who is leading the centers’ Zika emergency efforts.
Officials suspect the local infections occurred in Miami-Dade, she said.
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