Zika Virus Can Be Sexually Transmitted: Here’s How to Protect Yourself

Yesterday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first case of Zika being sexually transmitted in the U.S. The contraction of the mosquito-borne illness, which was reported in Dallas, also marks the first locally communicated case to occur on U.S. soil. Zika is known to cause temporary symptoms of fever, joint pain, rashes, and headaches for up to a week in its carriers, but the disease was declared an international public health emergency by the World Health Organization due to its possible associations with the birth defect microcephaly—a sometimes-congenital condition that causes small heads and incomplete brain development in infants. While some outbreak-endemic governments have already urged their citizens to hold off on getting pregnant, the news means that additional precautions should be taken worldwide. We spoke with Joel Ernst, M.D., the division director of infectious diseases and immunology at NYU Langone Medical Center, to find out what that means to you.

How can a person in the United States be infected by Zika?
Because we don’t have mosquito transmission of Zika in the United States right now, really the only way people can be infected that we know of is through sexual contact or blood transfusion. [And, as far as] person-to-person transmission through sexual contact [is concerned], so far it’s male to female; we don’t know if it can go the other direction, too.

What precautions should be taken?
You need to use condoms. Be aware. If pregnancy occurs after [sexual contact with an exposed or infected person], the most important thing to do would be to tell a physician or health care provider that this is a pregnancy with someone who went to a Zika-endemic country. [They should be able to give you] a blood test.

Once contracted, how long is the Zika virus potentially transmittable for?
We don’t know. We certainly don’t think it’s lifelong. But I would say, as a guess, within a couple of months [of the person’s return to the U.S.]. We should know in the next few months how long a person can be affected and for how long [it can be spread to another person]. This is really rapidly emerging and unfortunately is the kind of thing that will take us time to understand. We knew that Zika virus had appeared in South America, but the magnitude was only recognized months ago, and the association with microcephaly was in December. It takes time to generate that information. There are people working actively [to find these answers]. Until we know more, be safe.

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