Nearly half of Americans mistakenly think Zika is fatal

(credit: CDC)

In a recent phone survey, 42 percent of Americans reported thinking that people infected with the Zika virus were likely to die from the infection.

The survey, conducted by the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania, suggests that despite massive news coverage of the ongoing outbreaks, critical information about the virus is not being clearly conveyed.

For the record, infections with the Zika virus, which are mainly transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, typically result in mild to no illness. In fact, health experts estimate that around 80 percent of those infected will show no symptoms at all. For the remaining 20 percent or so that do, the symptoms are generally mild and include fever, aches, rashes, and pink eye.

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