--- title: Zika Spread Through Blood Transfusion in Brazil description: The blood recipient received the transfusion in April 2015. canonical: https://time.com/4208187/brazil-zika-blood-transfusion/ author: Julia Zorthian article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-04T18:41:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T14:46:38.622Z article:section: Health og:title: Zika Spread Through Blood Transfusion in Brazil og:description: The blood recipient received the transfusion in April 2015 og:url: https://time.com/4208187/brazil-zika-blood-transfusion/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1ddbe1ae52b31ae8/69887c2de20a87d3fea8f5fa/zika-transmission-blood-transfusion-brazil.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: zika transmission blood transfusion brazil og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Zika Spread Through Blood Transfusion in Brazil twitter:description: The blood recipient received the transfusion in April 2015 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1ddbe1ae52b31ae8/69887c2de20a87d3fea8f5fa/zika-transmission-blood-transfusion-brazil.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Zika Spread Through Blood Transfusion in Brazil  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Feb 4, 2016 6:41 PM UTC  Lab technicians analyze blood of pregnant women at the maternity of the Guatemalan Social Security Institute (IGSS) in Guatemala City on February 2, 2016\. Guatemala increased the monitoring of pregnant women because of the risk of infection by Zika virus. World health officials mobilized with emergency response plans and funding pleas Tuesday as fears grow that the Zika virus, blamed for a surge in the number of brain-damaged babies, could spread globally and threaten the Summer Olympics. AFP PHOTO Johan ORDONEZ / AFP / JOHAN ORDONEZ (Photo credit should read JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images) Lab technicians analyze blood of pregnant women at the maternity of the Guatemalan Social Security Institute (IGSS) in Guatemala City on February 2, 2016\. Guatemala increased the monitoring of pregnant women because of the risk of infection by Zika virus. World health officials mobilized with emergency response plans and funding pleas Tuesday as fears grow that the Zika virus, blamed for a surge in the number of brain-damaged babies, could spread globally and threaten the Summer Olympics. AFP PHOTO Johan ORDONEZ / AFP / JOHAN ORDONEZ (Photo credit should read JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images)Johan Ordonez—AFP/Getty Images  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Feb 4, 2016 6:41 PM UTC The Zika virus has been transmitted [through a blood transfusion](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-zika-brazil-blood-idUSKCN0VD22N) in [Brazil](http://time.com/4204470/zika-mosiquito-recife/), authorities confirmed. The blood recipient contracted the mosquito-borne illness during treatment for a gunshot wound in April 2015, according to the Campinas health department. Brazilian health authorities said Thursday that one of his blood donors had the Zika infection, Reuters reports. Doctors originally believed the patient had dengue fever, and did not complete a blood test for Zika until Jan. 28. The possibility of transmitting the virus through blood transfusions adds another method of Zika transmission, boosting the infection’s ability to spread. The World Health Organization [declared](http://time.com/4202499/who-zika-public-health-emergency/) the cluster of birth defects linked to Zika an International Public Health Emergency on Feb. 1, and estimates the total number of cases could reach 4 million by the end of the year. Zika in pregnant women has been linked to cases of [microcephaly](http://time.com/4202473/microcephaly-birth-defect-zika/) in their babies, a birth defect in which the baby’s head is unusually small. \[[_Reuters_](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-zika-brazil-blood-idUSKCN0VD22N)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4208187/brazil-zika-blood-transfusion/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4208187/brazil-zika-blood-transfusion/"},"headline":"Zika Spread Through Blood Transfusion in Brazil","datePublished":"2016-02-04T18:41:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T14:46:38.622Z","description":"The blood recipient received the transfusion in April 2015","url":"https://time.com/4208187/brazil-zika-blood-transfusion/","keywords":["Zika"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1ddbe1ae52b31ae8/69887c2de20a87d3fea8f5fa/zika-transmission-blood-transfusion-brazil.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1ddbe1ae52b31ae8/69887c2de20a87d3fea8f5fa/zika-transmission-blood-transfusion-brazil.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"zika transmission blood transfusion brazil","caption":"zika transmission blood transfusion brazil","creditText":"Johan Ordonez—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/zika/","name":"Zika"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4208187/brazil-zika-blood-transfusion/","name":"Zika Spread Through Blood Transfusion in Brazil"}}]}] ```