--- title: Zika: FDA Stops Blood Donations In 2 South Florida Counties description: The FDA wants the counties to test each donation for the virus canonical: https://time.com/4429314/zika-fda-stop-blood-donations-florida/ author: Abigail Abrams article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-28T19:38:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T09:57:42.451Z article:section: Health og:title: Zika: FDA Stops Blood Donations In 2 South Florida Counties og:description: The FDA wants the counties to test each donation for the virus og:url: https://time.com/4429314/zika-fda-stop-blood-donations-florida/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt895f82fce6442949/6988a02dbc6cfc86a13de09a/zika-florida-mosquitos-blood-donation-miami-dade.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3480 og:image:height: 1958 og:image:alt: US-HEALTH-ZIKA-VIRUS og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Zika: FDA Stops Blood Donations In 2 South Florida Counties twitter:description: The FDA wants the counties to test each donation for the virus twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt895f82fce6442949/6988a02dbc6cfc86a13de09a/zika-florida-mosquitos-blood-donation-miami-dade.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Florida Counties Asked to Stop Blood Donations Over Zika Fears > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=5e5e2ea6-05ca-4364-a1c4-4dde1243ba81&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) by [Abigail Abrams](https://time.com/author/abigail-abrams/) ## Abigail Abrams Jul 28, 2016 7:38 PM UTC  Miami-Dade mosquito control worker Carlos Vargas sprays to eradicate the Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae at a home in Miami, June 8, 2016. Miami-Dade mosquito control worker Carlos Vargas sprays to eradicate the Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae at a home in Miami, June 8, 2016. RHONA WISE—AFP/Getty Images by [Abigail Abrams](https://time.com/author/abigail-abrams/) ## Abigail Abrams Jul 28, 2016 7:38 PM UTC The Food and Drug Administration has asked all blood banks in Miami-Dade County and Broward County, Florida to [stop collecting blood](http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/SafetyAvailability/ucm513583.htm) immediately until all individual donations can be tested for the Zika virus. In a statement posted on its website late Wednesday, the FDA said it was taking this precaution because the counties are investigating [four cases](http://www.miamiherald.com/news/health-care/article92209207.html) of the Zika virus that are not related to travel and may be the first instances of transmission by local mosquitoes in the United States. The agency recommended that the two South Florida counties halt donations until they can test each donation for Zika or until they use an approved method to inactivate the virus. The FDA also recommended that “adjacent and nearby counties” implement the precautions. For blood collection centers outside the area, the agency suggested that people who have traveled to Miami-Dade and Broward Counties in the previous four weeks be deferred. Blood banks in the area are scheduled to begin testing for Zika on Aug. 1, the [_Miami Herald_ reported](http://www.miamiherald.com/news/health-care/article92362347.html). Experts [have said](http://www.wsj.com/articles/fda-tells-two-south-florida-counties-to-stop-blood-donations-over-zika-1469729921) they expected transmission of Zika within the continental U.S. this summer. There have been 1,658 cases of Zika in the U.S. and 4,750 cases in the U.S. territories as of July 27, according to the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention](http://www.cdc.gov/zika/geo/united-states.html). Despite Florida’s Zika concerns, the CDC said Thursday they are not adding South Florida to the list of restricted travel areas for pregnant women. [Zika](http://time.com/4318624/zika-virus-and-birth-defects-what-you-need-to-know/) is primarily spread by mosquitoes and can cause birth defects if women are pregnant while they have the virus. 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