Official communique: Chikungunya virus - a press release of the Associação Brasileira de Hematologia, Hemoterapia e Terapia Celular regarding the safety of transfusions and transplants

The number of cases of Chikungunya an alphavirus transmitted by the mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, continues to grow. The outbreak began in the Caribbean in December 2013 and until the present nearly 305,000 suspected cases have been reported to the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO). A total of 4756 of these cases have been confirmed as Chikungunya infection according to a communique issued online by the PAHO/WHO on July 3, 2014. The Brazilian health authorities are attentive to the evolution of the situation in the Caribbean, which is now considered an epidemic. The Associacao Brasileira de Hematologia e Hemoterapia (ABHH), through its Committee on TransfusionTransmitted Infectious Diseases, is vigilant. According to the committee there is no reason to introduce any measures yet, though it is studying the evolution of the situation and the measures to prevent transmission by transfusion and transplantation taken by other countries during epidemics. No cases of Chikungunya transmission have been described after blood transfusions, however, there is concern due to the many similarities with West Nile virus and dengue