spel@hippo.ru.ac.za (Dr. Eberhard W. Lisse) (06/14/91)
In <1991Jun12.020736.27657@cbfsb.att.com> Dan_Jacobson@ATT.COM writes: >>>>>> "g" == grx0644 <grx0644@uoft02.utoledo.edu> writes: >g> There is no evidence that the HIV virus can be >g> transmitted via insects bites. Lets look at a mosquito and how it >g> does what it does. >g> It bites its lunch and sucks up some blood. The mosquito then >g> digests the blood with protolytic enzymes that break down all >g> proteins [...] >Just curious, what if a mosquito bites person A for 1/8 second before >being brushed away. Still hungry, it immediately bites person B. >[I remember we went thru this discussion here years ago. I forgot >why the above was disproven also. Please post, not mail.] Well, sigh, it is quite obvious (like a lot on sci.med.folklore). It sucks blood. [In order to preempt the question how the moskito transmits malaria: that parasite goes through a cycle, transmits the gastric wall enters the salivary glands and then goes into the new victim.] Well, well... el ps: flames please per email to <spel@hippo.ru.ac.ZA> :-)-O -- Dr. Eberhard W. Lisse (spel@hippo.ru.ac.ZA) Katatura State Hospital (formerly extel@quagga.ru.ac.za) Private Bag 13215 (Real Soon Now ... el@lisse.NA) Windhoek, Namibia (no FTP yet. [This is Africa :-)-O])
pwallich@uunet.UU.NET (Paul Wallich) (06/14/91)
The strongest evidence that insects don't transmit HIV is epidemiological, and the detailed physical mechanisms come second. If insects could transmit the virus, then the pattern of disease in insect-ridden areas would match the pattern of people who get bitten by insects -- as the pattern of malaria infection does, for example. This means small children, older people, people living nearer to stagnant water for mosquitos e.g. and so forth. The pattern of HIV infection in insect-ridden areas is instead much like the pattern elsewhere: people who are sexually active & people who share needles. (That's the short version, of course. You can do it in longer version, but it's not really worth the trouble. Added to this, of course, is that HIV seems fairly difficult to transmit -- insofar as the blood- borne cases can be quantified, I think they all involve significantly more blood than one mosquito can carry.) paul
Dan_Jacobson@ATT.COM (06/18/91)
>>>>> On 13 Jun 91 18:32:54 GMT, spel@hippo.ru.ac.za (Dr. Eberhard W. Lisse) said: Eberhard> In <1991Jun12.020736.27657@cbfsb.att.com> Dan_Jacobson@ATT.COM writes: >Just curious, what if a mosquito bites person A for 1/8 second before >being brushed away. Still hungry, it immediately bites person B. >[I remember we went thru this discussion here years ago. I forgot >why the above was disproven also. Please post, not mail.] Eberhard> Well, sigh, it is quite obvious (like a lot on sci.med.folklore). Eberhard> It sucks blood. [...] I was thinking of the "dirty IV drug needle" analogy, specifically the outside of the mosquito's "needle"; and that maybe that it is so uncommon for a mosquito to be brushed away from person A after a 1/8 of a second unsatisfying bite and then bite person B that it hasn't shown up statistically (and therefore not something to be much worried about)... >>>>> On 13 Jun 91 21:02:31 GMT, decwrl!well.sf.ca.us!well!pwallich@uunet.UU.NET (Paul Wallich) said: Paul> Added to this, of course, is that HIV seems fairly difficult to Paul> transmit -- insofar as the blood- borne cases can be quantified, Paul> I think they all involve significantly more blood than one Paul> mosquito can carry.) But we are told that microscopic tears in the skin can be a route for transmission (via shared bodily fluids). [please post, not mail replies]