< Blood Service News - 21.07.2011

Restrictions on blood donation by people travelling from America

The donation restrictions apply to anyone who has visited the USA, Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean during the West Nile epidemic, that is between 1st July and 30th November.

The restrictions are as follows:

• A person will not be allowed to donate blood until 28 days have elapsed since they left the epidemic area.
  
• A person who develops a fever during or after travelling in the epidemic area will not be allowed to donate blood until 28 days after the symptoms have disappeared.

The West Nile virus spread to North America in 1999, and has been causing yearly epidemics in humans since 2002. The virus has spread from the USA to parts of Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. The epidemic recurs each year in late summer and during the autumn.

As the virus has been found to be transmitted through blood transfusion, a deferral of blood donation has been ordered each autumn since 2003 for everyone travelling from the epidemic area.

No cases of West Nile virus infection have been encountered in Finland. Nevertheless, since people travel a lot nowadays, it is theoretically possible for a person to contract West Nile virus infection through a mosquito bite during travelling.

For the safety of the patient

The Blood Service uses restrictions on donation to ensure that any donated blood is as safe as possible for the transfusion recipient, in other words the patient.

The criteria for blood donation have to be modified from time to time because of disease epidemics. Even without a current epidemic-related risk, items concerning a donor's travel history and travel destinations are always included in donor health questionnaires and donor interviews. For instance, people who have visited malarial areas are excluded from donating blood for six months after returning home.

West Nile virus infection often produces no symptoms but can still spread
The West Nile virus is mainly present in birds, which may transport the virus when migrating. In addition, mosquitos cause local spread of the virus.

Although most infected people have very slight symptoms, they can still pass the virus onto others. The symptoms include mild fever, nausea and vomiting, as well as headache and various other aches and pains. In extreme cases, an infected person may develop encephalitis which sometimes results in serious nerve damage and can be fatal.

Further information
Free Donor Helpline 0800 0 5801