PET PET
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
Become a Friend Donate
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements
PETBioNewsNewsHFEA urges vigilance over Zika virus

BioNews

HFEA urges vigilance over Zika virus

Published 19 February 2016 posted in News and appears in BioNews 840

Author

Ayala Ochert

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority is recommending that people returning from Zika-virus prone areas should not try to conceive naturally, donate eggs or sperm, or proceed with fertility treatment for 28 days...

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) is recommending that people returning from Zika-virus prone areas should not try to conceive naturally, donate eggs or sperm, or proceed with fertility treatment for 28 days.

The advice follows guidance issued by Public Health England, which notes that while Zika is almost always transmitted by mosquitoes, there is some evidence that it can be sexually transmitted.

The HFEA statement said: 'There is evidence that the Zika virus can be found in semen and that it may persist in semen after the acute infection has resolved. The Zika virus is [also] likely to survive the freeze and thaw of donated gametes.

'Whilst the situation is still evolving, and given the potentially significant consequences for a pregnancy if Zika is transmitted via the sperm, donors should be asked about recent travel.'

In the US, the Food and Drug Administration has issued guidance to blood banks not to accept donors who have travelled to Zika-prone areas for 28 days – the length of time it takes to clear from the blood. It is expected to issue similar advice to sperm banks very soon. In the meantime, US fertility clinics are issuing their own precautions.

The Seattle Sperm Bank has turned away a male sperm donor who had recently visited family in South America. Pacific Northwest Fertility has issued new rules for egg donors.

'We basically provide donors with a list of what at this point is considered a Zika virus zone,' Dr Lorna Marshall, a reproductive endocrinologist with the centre, told the Seattle Times. 'They must sign a consent saying they haven't travelled to or had sex with someone from those areas for 12 months.'

There is no commercial test yet for Zika virus, though companies are racing to develop one.

Public Health England also advises that, if a man has shown clinical signs of Zika virus infection or had the infection confirmed by a laboratory, he should use a condom during sex for six months.

The Zika virus outbreak in Central and South America has been linked to nearly 5000 babies being born with microcephaly, a birth defect that results in a very small head and brain damage.

Although there is no confirmed connection with the virus, it has been found in the saliva and urine of mothers and newborn babies. A new report in the The Lancet: Infectious Diseases has used metagenomic analysis to detect the virus in the amniotic fluid of two women who went on to have babies with microcephaly.

'This study reports details of the Zika virus being identified directly in the amniotic fluid of a woman during her pregnancy, suggesting that the virus could cross the placental barrier and potentially infect the fetus,' said report author Dr Ana de Filippis of the Oswaldo Cruz Institute in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Related Articles

PET BioNews
News
7 February 2020 • 1 minute read

Coronavirus in newborn raises transmission questions

by Alegria Vaz Mouyal

A newborn baby has been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus, prompting questions about whether it can be passed from mother to child in the womb...

Image by Bill McConkey via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts sperm swimming towards an egg.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Bill McConkey via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts sperm swimming towards an egg.
News
23 March 2017 • 2 minutes read

Donated sperm in Florida counties may be infected with Zika

by Annabel Slater

The US Centers for Disease Control has identified a potential risk of Zika virus transmission from donor sperm in the Florida tri-county area...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
7 November 2016 • 2 minutes read

Zika virus damages mouse testes and sperm

by Dr Barbara Kramarz

Zika virus causes permanent damage to the testes of male mice, reducing sperm count and sex hormone levels, according to a study...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
19 September 2016 • 2 minutes read

Olympian Greg Rutherford freezes sperm to avoid Zika

by Ayala Ochert

British athlete Greg Rutherford has frozen a sample of his sperm ahead of the Rio Olympics this summer because of concern over the Zika virus...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
14 September 2016 • 2 minutes read

CRISPR boosts cheap Zika test

by Sarah Gregory

Researchers have developed a quick and cheap 'paper-based' test that uses CRISPR to detect the Zika virus...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
9 September 2016 • 2 minutes read

'Flu severity' gene identified

by Dr Charlotte Warren-Gash

A key gene that governs the severity of influenza infections has been identified...

Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Reviews
30 November 2015 • 4 minutes read

TV Review: Unreported World — Mexico's Baby Business

by Jessica Richardson

A Channel 4 documentary about the surrogacy business in Mexico exposes some alarming practices...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
19 October 2015 • 2 minutes read

Genome analysis shows Ebola can be sexually transmitted

by Dr Julia Hill

Traces of Ebola virus RNA have been found in the semen of survivors up to nine months after infection, genome analysis has revealed...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
29 May 2015 • 2 minutes read

Wild chimps have gene that may protect against HIV

by Dr Lanay Griessner

Part of a gene that protects against the progression of HIV in humans has been identified in Tanzanian chimps...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
27 March 2015 • 2 minutes read

Single gene cripples flu defence

by Dr Jamie Heather

A report has found that rare mutations in a single gene made one girl genetically susceptible to severe influenza infection...

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

« Mini brains 'could transform drug testing'

Data-Label The UK's Leading Supplier Of Medical Labels & Asset Labels

RetiringDentist.co.uk The UK's Leading M&A Company.

Find out how you can advertise here
easyfundraising
amazon

This month in BioNews

  • Popular
  • Recent
8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Placenta and organ formation observed in mouse embryo models

8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Lower hormone doses may improve IVF egg quality

8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Boosting muscle cell production of gene therapy proteins

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

First UK medical guidelines issued for trans fertility preservation

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Male age has more impact on IVF birth rate than previously thought

15 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Call to end ban on HIV-positive partner gamete 'donation'

15 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Melanoma invades new tissues using nerve cell gene

15 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Exceeding alcohol limits could damage DNA and accelerate ageing

15 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Blood cell gene mutations affect mitochondria, increasing cardiovascular disease risk

15 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Jumping gene helps immune system fight viruses

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
PET PET

PET is an independent charity that improves choices for people affected by infertility and genetic conditions.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Navigation

  • About Us
  • Get Involved
  • Donate
  • BioNews
  • Events
  • Engagement
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us

BioNews

  • News
  • Comment
  • Reviews
  • Elsewhere
  • Topics
  • Glossary
  • Newsletters

Other

  • My Account
  • Subscribe

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856