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With the Zika virus emerging as a public health concern worldwide, experts at Johns Hopkins Medicine are closely monitoring the spread of the mosquito-borne illness and offering useful information to help prevent transmission. To this end, a Zika virus website was created to provide up-to-date information, answers to common questions, and videos and additional resources in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

Transmission of the Zika virus has been confirmed in the United States as well as in dozens of countries. It is most often spread through bites from the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, but it has also been transmitted, in rare cases, sexually and through blood transfusion or laboratory exposure. No treatment or vaccine currently exists for the Zika virus. For most people who contract the virus, the illness will be mild and pass on its own in about one week. In pregnant women, however, Zika can be much more severe, particularly for their unborn babies. It was discovered that Zika can cause fetal microcephaly as well as other neurologic abnormalities. This discovery and the proliferation in cases led to the World Health Organization declaring the Zika virus an international public health emergency.

For more information, please follow the links to visit the Johns Hopkins Medicine Zika virus website in Spanish, Portuguese and English.

For expert opinions:

Spanish/English-speaking Zika virus experts:

Carlos Pardo-Villamizar, M.D.
Dr. Pardo-Villamizar is an associate professor of neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Pardo focuses on a comprehensive approach in the diagnosis and management of transverse myelopathies (TM) and the disorders associated with TM.

Kathleen Page, M.D.
Dr. Page is an associate professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her areas of clinical expertise include infectious diseases, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. Dr. Page directs the Latin American programs for the Johns Hopkins Center for Clinical Global Health Education.

Portuguese/English-speaking Zika virus expert:

Lucio Gama, M.S., Ph.D.

Dr. Gama is an assistant professor of molecular and comparative pathobiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, working within the Comparative Medicine Retrovirus Laboratory. His areas of expertise are virology, molecular biology and immunology.