CDC and the Diagnostics Industry Continue to Battle Zika
While summer has ended, the battle against the mosquito-borne virus Zika continues. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated prior travel and testing guidance on Zika transmission to cover all of Miami-Dade County in Florida, as mosquito transmission of the virus continues to be reported in that region. The number of locally acquired cases of the virus is low in the United States at 137 according to the CDC’s Oct. 19 update, but there are a total of 4,016 cases in the U.S. with 3,878 related to travel. One reported case was laboratory-acquired. While locally mosquito-transmitted cases in the United States have only occurred to date in Florida, travel related cases have been reported in all 50 states with the most occurring in California, Florida and New York. Just as virus transmission has not abated, efforts to develop better diagnostics continue in earnest. The FDA has issued a total of 12 Emergency Use Authorizations for diagnostics. Here’s an update on some recent developments concerning available testing. Hologic EUA Expanded to Urine Samples Earlier this year, an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) was granted to Hologic for its Aptima® Zika Virus Assay for use with serum and plasma. In September, […]
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