HIV spreads through bodily fluid exchange, but why can’t mosquitoes sucking blood spread it?
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The mosquito can’t be infected by the HIV virus, which would be a necessary step in order to reach the salivary glands. It’s these glands that provide a route for potential infection for other transmissible diseases.
The virus cannot survive or reproduce in the mosquito. Mosquitos take about a couple days to digest the blood they consume, essentially the time between blood consumption, and the virus dies in that time.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9795564
The HIV virus binds to certain cell receptors and replicates. Mosquitoes don’t have the correct receptors for HIV so the virus can’t attach to their cells and can’t replicate. Instead, any virus that gets into a mosquito simply gets digested with everything else. Even if there was a tiny bit of undigested virus left in the mosquito when it bit you, it wouldn’t be a big enough viral load for you to get HIV.
The mosquito can’t be infected by the HIV virus, which would be a necessary step in order to reach the salivary glands. It’s these glands that provide a route for potential infection for other transmissible diseases.
The virus cannot survive or reproduce in the mosquito. Mosquitos take about a couple days to digest the blood they consume, essentially the time between blood consumption, and the virus dies in that time.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9795564
The mosquito can’t be infected by the HIV virus, which would be a necessary step in order to reach the salivary glands. It’s these glands that provide a route for potential infection for other transmissible diseases.
The HIV virus binds to certain cell receptors and replicates. Mosquitoes don’t have the correct receptors for HIV so the virus can’t attach to their cells and can’t replicate. Instead, any virus that gets into a mosquito simply gets digested with everything else. Even if there was a tiny bit of undigested virus left in the mosquito when it bit you, it wouldn’t be a big enough viral load for you to get HIV.
There are 3 key factors.
1. Mosquitos don’t inject blood into people when they bite, they suck blood out. They DO inject saliva, but in tiny amounts
2. HIV can’t survive in a mosquito
3. Even if they could inject blood into you, the amount they do wouldn’t contain nearly enough of the HIV virus for you to develop the disease.
https://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/viruses101/why_cant_mosquitos_transmit_hiv/
There are 3 key factors.
1. Mosquitos don’t inject blood into people when they bite, they suck blood out. They DO inject saliva, but in tiny amounts
2. HIV can’t survive in a mosquito
3. Even if they could inject blood into you, the amount they do wouldn’t contain nearly enough of the HIV virus for you to develop the disease.
https://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/viruses101/why_cant_mosquitos_transmit_hiv/
The HIV virus binds to certain cell receptors and replicates. Mosquitoes don’t have the correct receptors for HIV so the virus can’t attach to their cells and can’t replicate. Instead, any virus that gets into a mosquito simply gets digested with everything else. Even if there was a tiny bit of undigested virus left in the mosquito when it bit you, it wouldn’t be a big enough viral load for you to get HIV.
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