Since last year’s West Nile Virus outbreak, the Red Cross has implemented a number of additional safety measures to help protect the blood supply from the virus. These have included, but are not limited to:

• Deferring blood donors who have experienced a fever with headache – symptoms of WNV – in the week before the attempted donation.
• Testing each donated unit for evidence of the virus using a new WNV nucleic acid test, implemented nationwide under an Investigational New Drug protocol.
• Continuously monitoring WNV activity and taking proactive actions to safeguard the blood supply when necessary. 3. In addition, the Red Cross has taken steps to further reduce the risk of WNV transmission by blood in areas at high risk for WNV, including implementing more stringent WNV screening for each individual donation when possible.