Before you panic thinking about what could happen, know this: Its not likely.
The World Health Organization (WHO) actually addresses this in a mythbusters section on its website. To date there has been no information nor evidence to suggest that the new coronavirus could be transmitted by mosquitoes, the WHO says online. COVID-19 is a respiratory virus that spreads mostly through droplets generated when an infected person coughs or sneezesor through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose, the organization explainsnot through the bite of an infected mosquito.
COVID-19 is primarily a respiratory virus, echoes Amesh A. Adalja, M.D., senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. To be transmitted by a mosquito, the virus has to be viable in the mosquito itself. Coronaviruses dont have that relationship with mosquitoes.
Think about it like the common cold or the flu , neither of which you get from a mosquitothe virus can't replicate inside those pesky winged insects, so they can't pass it on. Not every pathogen can be transmitted by mosquitoesonly a select group, Dr. Adalja says.
So, while mosquitoes can carry different diseases, there is no evidence that COVID-19 is one of them. To protect yourself from COVID-19, Dr. Adalja recommends following the guidelines you can probably recite in your sleep by now: Try to avoid people who appear to be sick, do your best to practice social distancing, wash your hands well with soap and water, and, when social distancing isnt possible, wear a mask.
Its also not a terrible idea to do your best to avoid mosquito bites, given that mosquitoes can pass on some diseases. Thats why Dr. Adalja recommends using mosquito repellent when youre going to be outdoors, wearing long sleeves, and trying to avoid being outside at dawn and dusk, when mosquitoes are most active.
But, while battling mosquitoes during the summer isn't exactly fun, you can at least rest a little easier knowing you won't get COVID-19 that way.
