Mosquito season is upon us, and the question is can mosquito transmit coronavirus.
Can mosquito transmit coronavirus?
It is unlikely that mosquito can transmit coronavirus. Official guidance from the World Health Organization says there is no information or evidence. Therefore, new coronavirus could not be transmitting through mosquito bites.
Firstly, the coronavirus is a respiratory virus. And, the main means of transmission are viral droplets released into the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
For a mosquito to become infected with a virus, it must be present in the blood the mosquito feeds on.
COVID-19 is a respiratory virus that is almost exclusively contained within the lungs and respiratory tract of infected people. Moreover, it rarely gets into the blood.
Furthermore, for a virus to pass to a person through a mosquito or other kind of insect bite, the virus must be able to replicate inside the mosquito.
Neither the new nor any other type of coronavirus is know to cause that.
How is a virus transmitting from mosquito?
Namely, the mosquito would have to pick up the requisite amount of virus during its bite.
The virus must then not only survive the digestive process. But also, replicate within the mosquito. And, pass through the gut wall to the coelom (main body cavity) of the mosquito.
From there it must make its way to the salivary glands. So, it can be expressed by the mosquito as part of its salivary secretions.
Additionally, mosquitoes are very genetically different from humans. We have different receptors on the surface of cells and different replication machinery inside our cells.
Relatively few human viruses have the ability to infect both humans and mosquitoes.
Many human viruses have been infecting humans for a long time, and they are still unable to infect mosquitos.
Conversely, there are many mosquito viruses that are unable to infect humans, or any mammals.
Viruses that’s able to affect humans by mosquitoes include West Nile virus. Also, there’s a virus that causes dengue fever, and chikungunya virus.
To conclude, you shouldn’t worry about a mosquito transmitting coronavirus.
However, we must remain cautious. Studies have shown that factors contributing to potentially serious or fatal outcomes attendant to COVID-19 infection involve underlying medical issues.
For example, neurologic conditions that weaken the ability to cough or an already stressed immune system due to concurrent infection by mosquito-borne viruses