Can I get HIV from a mosquito?

My name is Rob Poole and I’m a Community Education Facilitator for HIV Edmonton. In my work, I’m continually asked about why mosquitoes do not transmit HIV.  Here is an article I found with a simple explanation:

Question: Can I get infected with HIV from mosquitoes?

Answer: The answer is a resounding NO. From the start of the HIV epidemic, there has been concern about HIV transmission of the virus by biting and bloodsucking insects, such as mosquitoes. However, studies conducted by the CDC and elsewhere have shown no evidence of HIV transmission through mosquitoes or any other insects -- even in areas where there are many cases of AIDS and large populations of mosquitoes. Lack of such outbreaks, despite intense efforts to detect them, supports the conclusion that HIV is not transmitted by insects.

The results of experiments and observations of insect biting behavior indicate that when an insect bites a person, it does not inject its own or a previously bitten person's or animal's blood into the next person. Rather, it injects saliva, which acts as a lubricant so the insect can feed efficiently. Diseases such as yellow fever and malaria are transmitted through the saliva of specific species of mosquitoes. However, HIV lives for only a short time inside an insect and, unlike organisms that are transmitted via insect bites, HIV does not reproduce (and does not survive) in insects. Thus, even if the virus enters a mosquito or another insect, the insect does not become infected and cannot transmit HIV to the next human it bites.

There also is no reason to fear that a mosquito or other insect could transmit HIV from one person to another through HIV-infected blood left on its mouth parts. Several reasons help explain why this is so:

1. Infected people do not have constantly high levels of HIV in their blood streams.
2. Insect mouth parts retain only very small amounts of blood on their surfaces.
3. Scientists who study insects have determined that biting insects normally do not travel from one person to the next immediately after ingesting blood. Rather, they fly to a resting place to digest the blood meal.

There are diseases that mosquitoes can carry, one being West Nile Virus¹. For more information on West Nile Virus check About's Healthcare Center².

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I hope this helps.  Also important to add: HIV requires a host cell to bind with, invade, and use to reproduce. In humans, the host cell is the CD4 cell. HIV is a retro-virus that has RNA but not its own DNA, hence the need to invade and take over the DNA of a CD4 cell. Mosquitoes do not have CD4 cells and therefore any HIV present in the blood that the mosquito ingests dies quickly.

Remember – there’s no such thing as a dumb question.  If you have questions about HIV transmission, testing, treatment… anything, feel free to email me health@hivedmonton.com

Have a great day-

Rob

Virii are strains, then they get strainsger… by Dave B.

The staff from HIV Edmonton approached me and asked, “Dave, we want to highlight people who work and/or volunteer their time here and why they do it. Would you be willing do that?” 

I am currently a member of the Positive Speakers’ Bureau here at HIV Edmonton. I take this position quite seriously, as I have been associated with this agency in one form or another fairly steadily over the past 18 years or so. In fact, my dilemma was “Ok, you want a story - do you have a word count in mind? Are you aware I was once a somewhat prolific writer?”  Well, some will chuckle. Some might cry.

A Legacy year. Another year. I look forward to telling you my "story" in the near future. Yet for this posting, I’ll just pontificate. We meet once a month in the boardroom at HIV Edmonton to debrief and talk about our experiences in telling our tales. We share our experiences and ideas about ways we can improve our lives and live healthier lifestyles. Oh, and sometimes, we’ve been known to play. 

Yes, HIV is manageable today, and the best way I can go out on a speaking engagement as a representative of an agency that has given so much to me is to portray it. Then, perhaps people will see what I mean when I say it. Be the part when I play it. Yet, most of all, I know that I have a group of peers who face those same groups, critics, and crowds. And staff who possess the necessary skill sets to absorb my continued shocks and synaptic befuddlements. There is a definite sense of empowerment in this group. A feeling that I can prepare for a better next time, continually looking forward - I like that. It works for me. In honesty, I cannot count the number of hours I have given to the agency. The energy I receive far exceeds the commitment I give through my meager service work. It is a position the agency will be hard pressed to shake me from.

January, 2011

Dave B.