--- title: Zika Virus Could Be Spread Through Sex, Cases Suggest description: The CDC says the two cases only suggest a “theoretical risk” of sexual transmission canonical: https://time.com/4193797/zika-virus-spread-sex/ author: Tara John article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-26T14:41:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T14:26:34.295Z article:section: Health og:title: Zika Virus Could Be Spread Through Sex, Cases Suggest og:description: The CDC says the two cases only suggest a “theoretical risk” of sexual transmission og:url: https://time.com/4193797/zika-virus-spread-sex/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98409be5bcd4c6c4/69887a9c8e060180564644a5/zika-virus-sex.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1617 og:image:height: 910 og:image:alt: An Aedes Aegypti mosquito is photographed on human skin in a lab of the International Training and Medical Research Training Center (CIDEIM) on Jan. 25, 2016, in Cali, Colombia. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Zika Virus Could Be Spread Through Sex, Cases Suggest twitter:description: The CDC says the two cases only suggest a “theoretical risk” of sexual transmission twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98409be5bcd4c6c4/69887a9c8e060180564644a5/zika-virus-sex.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Zika Virus Could Be Spread Through Sex, Cases Suggest > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. by [Tara John](https://time.com/author/tara-john/) ## Tara John Jan 26, 2016 2:41 PM UTC  An Aedes Aegypti mosquito is photographed on human skin in a lab of the International Training and Medical Research Training Center (CIDEIM) on Jan. 25, 2016, in Cali, Colombia. An Aedes Aegypti mosquito is photographed on human skin in a lab of the International Training and Medical Research Training Center (CIDEIM) on Jan. 25, 2016, in Cali, Colombia. Luis Robayo—AFP/Getty Images by [Tara John](https://time.com/author/tara-john/) ## Tara John Jan 26, 2016 2:41 PM UTC A small amount of evidence suggests the Zika virus, [which has been linked to paralysis and brain damage in infants](http://time.com/4176167/zika-virus-what-to-know/), could be transmitted by sex. Despite only two such known cases being described in medical literature, some experts feel that federal authorities should inform all travelers, not just pregnant women, of the potential dangers, [reports the New York _Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/26/health/two-cases-suggest-zika-virus-could-be-spread-through-sex.html?%5Fr=0). The first case occurred when scientists found high levels of the Zika virus in the semen of an unidentified 44-year-old man from French Polynesia. The second episode occurred in 2008 in Colorado, where a specialist in insect-borne diseases, Brian D. Foy, fell ill with symptoms typical of several mosquito-borne illnesses after a trip to Senegal. A few days following his return, his wife showed similar symptoms to him and their blood samples later tested positive for the Zika virus. Neither passed the disease to their kids or close family, so the couple realized it could have been sexually transmitted. Foy later [wrote about his experience in 2011](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3321795/) and has been trying to get funds to research the phenomenon. Officials from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), according to the _Times,_ say evidence is insufficient to warrant a warning to all travelers as the two instances suggest a “theoretical risk” of sexual transmission. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4193797/zika-virus-spread-sex/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4193797/zika-virus-spread-sex/"},"headline":"Zika Virus Could Be Spread Through Sex, Cases Suggest","datePublished":"2016-01-26T14:41:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T14:26:34.295Z","description":"The CDC says the two cases only suggest a “theoretical risk” of sexual transmission","url":"https://time.com/4193797/zika-virus-spread-sex/","keywords":["Public Health"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98409be5bcd4c6c4/69887a9c8e060180564644a5/zika-virus-sex.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tara John","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tara-john/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98409be5bcd4c6c4/69887a9c8e060180564644a5/zika-virus-sex.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"An Aedes Aegypti mosquito is photographed on human skin in a lab of the International Training and Medical Research Training Center (CIDEIM) on Jan. 25, 2016, in Cali, Colombia.","caption":"An Aedes Aegypti mosquito is photographed on human skin in a lab of the International Training and Medical Research Training Center (CIDEIM) on Jan. 25, 2016, in Cali, Colombia.","creditText":"Luis Robayo—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/public-health/","name":"Public Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4193797/zika-virus-spread-sex/","name":"Zika Virus Could Be Spread Through Sex, Cases Suggest"}}]}] ```