--- title: Zika Virus Spreads to Texas Through Sex: Health Officials description: The mosquito-born Zika virus can be transmitted through sex, health officials confirmed Tuesday canonical: https://time.com/4204578/zika-virus-sex-dallas/ author: Melissa Chan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-02T20:23:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T09:10:41.503Z article:section: Health og:title: Zika Virus Spreads to Texas Through Sex: Dallas Health Officials og:description: The disease can be spread through mosquitoes and sexual contact. og:url: https://time.com/4204578/zika-virus-sex-dallas/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte07ea6514f2a1397/69887be0f887dc1b32e946ec/zika-virus1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: An employee examines tubes with the label 'Zika virus' at Genekam Biotechnology AG in Duisburg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Zika Virus Spreads to Texas Through Sex: Dallas Health Officials twitter:description: The disease can be spread through mosquitoes and sexual contact. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte07ea6514f2a1397/69887be0f887dc1b32e946ec/zika-virus1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Zika Virus Spreads in Texas Through Sex: Dallas Health Officials  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Feb 2, 2016 8:23 PM UTC  An employee examines tubes with the label 'Zika virus' at Genekam Biotechnology AG in Duisburg, Germany on Feb. 2, 2016. An employee examines tubes with the label 'Zika virus' at Genekam Biotechnology AG in Duisburg, Germany on Feb. 2, 2016.Ina Fassbender—Reuters  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Feb 2, 2016 8:23 PM UTC Health officials have confirmed what appears to be the [first case of the mosquito-borne Zika virus spreading through sex](https://twitter.com/DCHHS/status/694600324128985088) within the continental U.S. A patient in Dallas became [infected after having sex ](http://time.com/4193797/zika-virus-spread-sex/)with a person who had returned from Venezuela, one of the [dozens of countries stricken with the Zika virus](http://www.cdc.gov/zika/geo/), according to the Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS). The illness has been linked to brain damage in newborns. “Now that we know Zika virus can be transmitted through sex, this increases our awareness campaign in educating the public about protecting themselves and others,” DCHHS director Zachary Thompson said in a statement. The DCHHS said it received confirmation of the infection from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which did not immediately return a request for comment Tuesday. It’s the first Zika virus case acquired through sexual transmission in Dallas this year, the DCHHS said. The World Health Organization on Monday declared the cluster of birth defects linked to of Zika an [international public-health emergency](http://time.com/4202499/who-zika-public-health-emergency/). There is no vaccine for the virus, which has quickly spread throughout the Americas, infecting people in more than 20 countries. WHO officials said the total number of cases could hit 4 million by the end of the year. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4204578/zika-virus-sex-dallas/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4204578/zika-virus-sex-dallas/"},"headline":"Zika Virus Spreads in Texas Through Sex: Dallas Health Officials","datePublished":"2016-02-02T20:23:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T09:10:41.503Z","description":"The disease can be spread through mosquitoes and sexual contact","url":"https://time.com/4204578/zika-virus-sex-dallas/","keywords":["Zika"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte07ea6514f2a1397/69887be0f887dc1b32e946ec/zika-virus1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte07ea6514f2a1397/69887be0f887dc1b32e946ec/zika-virus1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"An employee examines tubes with the label 'Zika virus' at Genekam Biotechnology AG in Duisburg","caption":"An employee examines tubes with the label 'Zika virus' at Genekam Biotechnology AG in Duisburg","creditText":"Ina Fassbender—Reuters","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/zika/","name":"Zika"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4204578/zika-virus-sex-dallas/","name":"Zika Virus Spreads in Texas Through Sex: Dallas Health Officials"}}]}] ```