Can You Get Coronavirus from Mosquito or Tick Bites?

Can you get coronavirus from mosquito bites? As the days get warmer in the United States, the number of mosquitoes buzzing around is increasing. This may cause you to wonder if there’s a chance that COVID-19 could be spread by mosquitoes. Read on for what we know so far about that question.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that COVID-19 is not known to be spread by mosquitoes. In fact, WHO is so sure of this fact that they created a graphic about it too, which you can see below.

WHO

According to WHO, there’s no evidence that it’s transmitted by mosquitoes to date. It’s primarily spread through droplets generated when someone coughs, sneezes, or from nose discharge. That’s why it’s important to avoid close contact and to wash your hands frequently.

The American Mosquito Control Association also addressed the same question, noting that although mosquitos can spread some viruses, that don’t spread all viruses. The virus must be able to replicate inside a mosquito or tick in order to be passed to a person. At the moment, there’s no evidence that COVID-19 or other coronaviruses like SARS or MERS could be spread by mosquitos or ticks.

Victoria County’s public health authority, Dr. John McNeill, was a little more cautious in his recommendations. He told Victoria Advocate that it was theoretical for the virus to be spread by mosquitos, but to date there is no indication that it’s possible or happening.

Pete Teel, PhD and interim head of the Department of Entomology at Texas A&M University, has also said that there’s no evidence mosquitos or ticks can transmit coronavirus, AgriLife Today reported.

Teel said: “Ticks, like mosquitoes, are blood-feeding external parasites. The viruses they are known to transmit to humans must survive and grow, or replicate, inside the tick as well as survive through tick developmental stages. People still need to exercise caution and good judgment in avoiding bites. But there is no evidence that a coronavirus can survive being digested by a mosquito, let alone transmitted to another person.”

Mosquitos can still transmit other types of viruses. Since people may be spending more time outside as they’re practicing social distancing, they should still protect themselves from mosquito bites for other reasons, advised Kevin Myles, a Department of Entomology professor.

“Everyone should be reminded to wear appropriate clothing and insect repellant when spending time outdoors, as vector-borne diseases continue to pose a threat to public health, in addition to flu and COVID-19,” Myles told AgriLife Today.

So in a world full of new bad news pretty much every day, it’s at least good news to know that there’s no evidence COVID-19 can be spread through mosquito or tick bites. Still, there are a lot of dangerous diseases that are spread that way, so it’s best to be safe and do everything you can to avoid bites by those insects anyway.

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