Prevention and Transmission

What We Know

A husband and wife with their two children
  • Zika is spread mostly by the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito (Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus). These mosquitoes bite during the day and night.
  • Prevent Zika by avoiding mosquito bites.
  • Zika can be passed from a pregnant woman to her fetus. Infection during pregnancy can cause certain birth defects.
  • Zika can be passed through sex from a person who has Zika to his or her sex partners. Condoms can reduce the chance of getting Zika from sex. Condoms include male and female condoms.
  • No vaccine is currently available.
  • Since 2018, no local mosquito-borne Zika virus transmission has been reported in the continental United States.
  • The mosquitoes that can spread Zika are found throughout the United States.