Can mosquitoes transmit AIDS?
Many studies have been conducted on this issue in the United States and abroad. To my knowledge, there has never been a successful transfer of the virus from an infected source to another host by blood feeding insects under experimental conditions. The experts have concluded that the insects are not capable of such transmission. Many biological reasons would lead one to this same conclusion, but the extensive experimental studies are the most powerful evidence for the conclusion. HIV DOES NOT replicate in mosquitoes. Thus, mosquitoes cannot be a biological vector as they are for malaria, yellow fever, or dengue. In fact, mosquitoes digest the virus that causes AIDS. There is no possibility of mechanical transmission (i.e., flying contaminated syringes); even though we all know that HIV can be transmitted by dirty needles. However, the amount of “blood” on a mosquitoes’ mouth parts is tiny compared to what is found on a “dirty” needle. Thus, the risk is proportionally smaller.
Many studies have been conducted on this issue in the United States and abroad. To my knowledge, there has never been a successful transfer of the virus from an infected source to another host by bloodfeeding insects under experimental conditions. The experts have concluded that the insects are not capable of such transmission. Many biological reasons would lead one to this same conclusion, but the extensive experimental studies are the most powerful evidence for the conclusion.
Many studies have been conducted on this issue in the United States and abroad. To my knowledge, there has never been a successful transfer of the virus from an infected source to another host by bloodfeeding insects under experimental conditions. The experts have concluded that the insects are not capable of such transmission. Many biological reasons would lead one to this same conclusion, but the extensive experimental studies are the most powerful evidence for the conclusion. • Will my pets be harmed if they eat mouse or rat poison? Rodenticides can be harmful if ingested by domestic pets or non-target wildlife. To prevent exposure use the following precautions: 1. Store product that is not in use in a location out of reach of pets. 2. Apply bait in locations that are out of reach of pets and other non-target wildlife. 3. Collect and dispose of any dead rodents and left over bait right away. • How many of mice are born at once?
We live in a mosquito-infested part of the world, and even if all the experts reassure us, we want to know why mosquitoes cannot transmit Aids. So, consider three situations in which concerns arise. In the first scenario, you are in a room with a bunch of people and a cloud of mosquitoes. It is dinnertime, and one of the mosquitoes sups on a gentleman who has Aids. The mosquito wobbles off in search of dessert and chances upon you. Now, without washing its mouth parts, it chooses to feast on your blood. You worry that its fangs are blood-stained; you remember that Aids can be spread through contaminated syringes; you panic: when that mosquito bites you after biting an Aids host, is it injecting Aids-containing blood into you? In the second scenario, you have just been bitten by a mosquito. You wonder: has this mosquito fed on an Aids host recently? If yes, has the mosquito become a flying host to the Aids virus?
The HIV virus that produces AIDS in humans does not develop in mosquitoes. If a mosquitoes takes in HIV infected blood, the virus is treated as food and digested along with the blood. If a mosquito draws blood from an HIV positive person and then bites a non-infected person, insufficient particles are transferred to cause a new infection. If a mosquito fully engorged with HIV positive blood is squashed on the skin, not enough virus would be transferred to produce infection. Viral diseases that are transferred by insects produce tremendously high levels of parasites in human blood. Levels of HIV that circulate in human blood are very low.
