Here's what you should know about the Zika viral disease

• Zika virus outbreak: first person to contract the disease in the US got it through sex 

 TomoNews DALLAS — An individual in Dallas, Texas has become the first person in the country to acquire the Zika virus disease while in the States, reported NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. 

The disease has been quickly spreading through much of Latin America and the Caribbean. An American who traveled to Dallas from Venezuela reportedly transmitted the disease to his partner in Dallas through sex. 

Both individuals now have the disease, which has been linked to a massive increase in cases of microcephaly Brazil. Microcephaly is a condition linked to incomplete brain development in infants. 

 Scientists have suspected that the virus can be transmitted sexually, as there have been case studies in the past suggesting that possibility. However, the New York Times reports that the cases are so few and far between that health experts generally believe there isn't enough evidence to warrant a travel warning. 

The primary vector is still mosquitos. The first piece of evidence supporting the theory that the Zika virus can be sexually transmitted surfaced in 2008, after an American contracted the Zika virus in Senegal. After he returned home to Colorado, his wife was infected with the virus but their four children were not. The couple concluded that the disease was transmitted during sex. 

 In 2013, French scientists also found viable Zika virus in a 44-year-old Tahitian man's semen samples long after the virus disappeared from his blood. It was unclear how long the virus had been in his body when he was tested, the Times reported. 

 Now that it's apparent the disease can also be transmitted through sexual intercourse, health officials will have to tweak their awareness campaigns. Not only should mosquito bites be avoided, but abstaining from sex with individuals that have recently traveled to Zika-prone areas might also be a good idea.