Do Mosquitoes Carry the Coronavirus?
Mosquitoes are known to transmit viruses, such as Zika and West Nile. And with the current pandemic, you may be wondering whether the pests carry the novel coronavirus, too.
There's no evidence that you can contract COVID-19 from mosquitoes, according to the World Health Organization and The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's because the new coronavirus is primarily spread from close contact with another person. You're most likely to get sick from respiratory droplets emitted when infected people cough, sneeze, or talk, according to the CDC. This is why social distancing and washing your hands are the best ways to avoid getting COVID-19.
Joseph Conlon, former U.S. Navy entomologist and technical adviser for the American Mosquito Control Association, told ProPublica there are several reasons it's unlikely that you would get COVID-19 from mosquitoes. First, the novel coronavirus isn't widely circulated in the blood. And second, the virus would need to be digested and survive the digestive process, which is unlikely. From there, it would need to be transferred to the insect's salivary glands to infect you.
“It’s an extremely complicated process, and there are a number of different barriers there,” Conlon told ProPublica.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is conducting a study to officially test whether the novel coronavirus can be spread by mosquitoes, the outlet reports. Conlon expects the results will formally support the WHO and CDC statements on the issue.
However, you'll still want to prevent mosquito bites, says Conlon. (See which repellents are best here.) “Mosquitoes transmit several other diseases and have their own immune issues that would make people particularly susceptible to a coronavirus infection,” he told ProPublica.
You Might Also Like
