WASHINGTON — There’s a lot of news out there about the Zika virus, and it seems Americans are paying close attention.
The monthly Kaiser Health Tracking Poll for February looked at public perceptions of Zika and found a lot of Americans are keeping a close watch on developments surrounding the current outbreak in Central and South America.
About six in 10 of those polled, about 57 percent, said they closely followed news about Zika. Many more said they had heard of or read something about the virus.
The survey respondents also seemed very aware of the way the virus is transmitted.
Three-quarters of those surveyed said they knew it was transmitted by infected mosquitoes. More than half, about 54 percent, knew it could be contracted through sex with an infected person, though such cases are rare.
Only five percent said, wrongly, that it is possible to get Zika by shaking hands with someone who has the disease.
A solid 63 percent of people knew that cases of Zika had been diagnosed in the United States. Sixty percent said they were aware of the possible association between Zika and birth defects.
About four in 10 of those polled said they are worried that the United States will see a large number of Zika cases, and three in 10 are worried that they or someone in their family will be affected.
Perhaps because of the association with birth defects, women in the survey were more likely to be concerned about a potential U.S. outbreak than men.
