Can Mosquitoes Get You AIDS?
WouterDespite the fact that mosquitoes are carriers of many diseases, they can’t get you AIDS. Unlike humans, they are not able to replicate the RNA virus that causes the disease. It’s not a question of if, but when, they are going to make the transition from one host to another.
Interestingly enough, most studies do not even attempt to tally the number of mosquitoes carrying the HIV virus. This oh-so-famous disease affects over 700 million people per year. The best way to avoid it is by avoiding the source of the virus in the first place. In addition, the risk of contracting the disease is minimized by reducing the number of mosquitoes in the vicinity of a susceptible host.
The true tale is not found in a single test tube of blood, but rather a swarm of mosquitoes with varying characteristics. These swarms of mosquitoes are known to transmit a wide variety of viral pathogens to the human host. Among the most notable are dengue fever, malaria, Japanese encephalitis, yellow fever, and the dreaded Zika. These mosquito-borne illnesses are mostly common in the tropical latitudes of South and Central America, but have also made their way across the Atlantic.
A study at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States found that there is no hard data to prove that mosquitoes are a prime carrier of AIDS. However, the CDC did conduct several epidemiological studies which did prove that the presence of mosquitoes carries a small but meaningful risk to a human host.
