Dengue fever outbreak hits blood supplies in Cairns
WHOLE blood supplies are being shipped from other parts of Queensland to ensure the Far North is stocked until the dengue fever outbreak ends.
The Australian Red Cross Blood Service suspended donations from anyone who has been in the dengue zone, which now stretches from Edmonton to Port Douglas, because it risks passing on the disease to recipients.
But the Cairns Blood Donor Centre urged donors to continue giving plasma, a component of blood that is not affected by the virus. Community liaison officer Sandy Holmes said the centre could also not accept whole blood from people who travelled to Cairns from outside the outbreak zone.
The number of people diagnosed with dengue fever rose to 77 yesterday.
Full story in The Cairns Post.
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Vital work: Lisa Collins takes plasma from Len Bennett. Picture: BRENDAN FRANCIS
