About 1 in 3 Americans are aware that the best way to fight the Zika virus is to protect against mosquito bites, according to a new poll that finds the American public still need to know more about the virus.
The poll from the Annenberg Public Policy Center comes as summer approaches, and with it, mosquito season. The Zika virus is primarily spread via mosquito bites.
While mosquitoes haven’t been spreading the virus yet, public health agencies believe that could change this summer. White House officials have said they expect limited outbreaks of Zika in the U.S. this year.
The poll found that just 35 percent correctly pointed to avoiding mosquito bites as the best way to prevent Zika. Another 20 percent said not traveling to an area with Zika solves the problem, and 6 percent said the use of condoms would prevent sexual transmission of the disease.
The rest of the survey was made up of multiple other types of answers.
While some Americans may not know how to prevent Zika, the poll found 82 percent know it was spread by mosquito bites and 74 percent said they “routinely take precautions to avoid mosquito bites.”
The virus itself only causes a mild illness, and only one in five infected people show symptoms. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently confirmed a link between Zika and the birth defect microcephaly, which causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads.
Zika may also cause a neurological disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome.
The CDC has warned pregnant women and women of childbearing age to avoid traveling to countries and territories where the Zika virus is spreading via mosquito bites.
The poll was of 1,009 people.
