The Zika virus is spread by a mosquito to a human and an infected mother can transmit it to her fetus. While the Zika virus can have devastating effects on a fetus, the symptoms are mild in an adult. It has a 3- to 12-day incubation period which produces mild flu-like symptoms such as a fever skin rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis. Many people won’t even realize they have been exposed to the virus because it causes very mild symptoms according to the Centers for Disease Control. However, if an individual is infected, they can transmit the virus to another person through sexual contact and a mother to her unborn baby. According to the March of Dimes, it is recommended that women up to eight weeks to conceive after a Zika infection. However, it is believed that the virus lives longer semen. Therefore, men infected with Zika should wait even longer before conception.
For the Health of it: Contraception Only Prevention Tool to Fight Effects of Zika
