Protect Yourself & Others
Use the tips below to protect yourself & others from Zika
- Following these tips will help to protect you, your partner, your family, your friends, and your community from Zika. The more steps you take, the more protected you are.
- If you are caring for a family member or friend with Zika, take steps to protect yourself from exposure to the person’s blood and body fluids.
Prevent mosquito bites
- Zika virus is spread to people mainly through the bite of an infected mosquito.
- Mosquitoes that spread Zika and other viruses bite during the day and night.
- The best way to prevent Zika is to protect yourself from mosquito bites.
- Everyone, including pregnant and breastfeeding women, should take steps to prevent mosquito bites.
- When used as directed, EPA-registered insect repellents are proven safe and effective, even for pregnant and breastfeeding women.
What you can do
- Check CDC’s travel recommendations for areas with risk of Zika.
- Take steps to prevent mosquito bites.
- Take steps to control mosquitoes inside and outside your home.
Plan for travel
- Outbreaks of Zika have occurred in different countries and territories.
- Zika virus will continue to infect people. It is difficult to know when and where Zika virus will occur in the future.
What you can do
- Check CDC’s travel recommendations for areas with risk of Zika.
- Plan for travel (both before AND after your trip)
- Protect yourself during sex
Protect yourself during sex
- Zika can be passed through sex from a person who has Zika to his or her sex partners.
- We know that Zika can remain in semen longer than in other body fluids, including vaginal fluids, urine, and blood.
What you can do
- Not having sex can eliminate the risk of getting Zika from sex.
- Condoms can reduce the chance of getting Zika from sex.
- Condoms include male and female condoms.
- To be effective, condoms should be used from start to finish, every time during vaginal, anal, and oral sex and the sharing of sex toys.
- Dental dams (latex or polyurethane sheets) may also be used for certain types of oral sex (mouth to vagina or mouth to anus).
- Learn how to protect yourself during sex.
If you have Zika, protect others
- During the first week of infection, Zika virus can be found in the blood and passed from an infected person to another mosquito through mosquito bites. An infected mosquito can then spread the virus to other people.
- Zika can be passed through sex from a person who has Zika to his or her partners. Sex includes vaginal, anal and oral sex, and the sharing of sex toys.
What you can do
- Take steps to prevent mosquito bites.
- Protect yourself during sex if your partner lives in or has traveled to an area with risk of Zika.
Related Resources
Zika 101 Presentation
Zika: The Basics of the Virus and How to Protect Against It
Fact Sheets
Fact Sheets
Learn more about Zika with our fact sheets and posters.
More Information
Page last reviewed: January 21, 2020
