Rumor Buster: Can mosquitoes, flies transmit COVID-19?
As the COVID-19 pandemic still ravages the world with the approaching of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, there is great concern that vectors like mosquitoes and flies could carry the coronavirus and transmit it to humans.
The fear is not without cause as mosquitoes and flies could transmit a slew of contagious diseases, such as malaria and dengue fever. But mosquitoes and flies do not have the biological basis to transmit the coronavirus, according to Wang Liping, a researcher from the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
There has been no evidence worldwide showing that COVID-19 contagion was caused by mosquitoes and flies, she said at a news conference on Saturday, urging people to protect themselves against mosquito bites and keep food from flies in summer.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has also clarified that the novel coronavirus cannot be transmitted through mosquito bites. "To date there has been no information nor evidence to suggest that the new coronavirus could be transmitted by mosquitoes," the WHO said on its website.
The novel coronavirus is a respiratory virus which spreads primarily through "droplets generated when an infected person coughs or sneezes, or through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose," the WHO noted.
"As of today, there's no scientific evidence that a mosquito is competent in spreading COVID-19 from any host to any other host," RJ Montgomery, director of Mosquito Management Services in Hillsborough County, Florida, told local media.
The mosquito is "the vector of many, many pathogens but from what we know today, we know it [COVID-19] is not a pathogen mosquitoes can transmit from human to human," Montgomery was quoted by WTSP, a CBS-affiliated television station in Florida.
To protect yourself, clean your hands frequently with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water, and avoid close contact with anyone who is coughing and sneezing, according to the WHO. Enditem
