Abstract

This research addresses public speculation that SARS-CoV-2 might be transmitted by mosquitoes. The World Health Organization has stated “To date there has been no information nor evidence to suggest that the new coronavirus could be transmitted by mosquitoes”. Here we provide the first experimental data to investigate the capacity of SARS-CoV-2 to infect and be transmitted by mosquitoes. Three widely distributed species of mosquito; Aedes aegypti, Ae. albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus, representing the two most significant genera of arbovirus vectors that infect people, were tested. We demonstrate that even under extreme conditions, SARS-CoV-2 virus is unable to replicate in these mosquitoes and therefore cannot be transmitted to people even in the unlikely event that a mosquito fed upon a viremic host.

Details

Title
SARS-CoV-2 failure to infect or replicate in mosquitoes: an extreme challenge
Author
Huang, Yan-Jang S 1 ; Vanlandingham, Dana L 1 ; Bilyeu, Ashley N 1 ; Sharp, Haelea M 1 ; Hettenbach, Susan M 2 ; Higgs, Stephen 1 

 Kansas State University, Department of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Manhattan, USA (GRID:grid.36567.31) (ISNI:0000 0001 0737 1259); Kansas State University, Biosecurity Research Institute, Manhattan, USA (GRID:grid.36567.31) (ISNI:0000 0001 0737 1259) 
 Kansas State University, Biosecurity Research Institute, Manhattan, USA (GRID:grid.36567.31) (ISNI:0000 0001 0737 1259) 
Publication year
2020
Publication date
2020
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2424567866
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2020. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.