The FDA recently blood banks asking donors specific questions about possible exposure to the monkeypox virus or using laboratory diagnostic tests to screen them for it.
There have been no reports of transmission of monkeypox virus through blood transfusion, and existing safeguards for blood safety, which include requiring that donors be in good health and have a normal temperature on the day they donate, are robust, according to the FDA. In addition, donors are usually asked to report if they become ill after donating blood so that the blood bank can determine whether it's safe to transfuse.
Meanwhile, the agency said it will continue to monitor US monkeypox cases and available information about the risk of transmitting the virus in blood, which remains theoretical.
As of August 26, more than 17鈥�000 cases of monkeypox had been reported in the US, and nearly 48鈥�000 had been reported worldwide, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.