Can mosquito bites spread HIV?
Jul 29, 2025
Source: Cainiu Health
Dr. Liu Feng
Introduction
Under normal circumstances, mosquito bites do not spread the HIV virus. In terms of viral load, the amount of blood ingested by a mosquito during a single feeding is extremely small, and the quantity of human immunodeficiency virus it contains is far below the threshold required to cause infection. Furthermore, after a mosquito feeds once, it requires several days to digest the blood, and therefore does not bite multiple people in a short period of time, which further reduces the risk of transmission.
Generally, mosquito bites do not spread the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The detailed explanation is as follows:
AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and is primarily transmitted through sexual contact, blood, and mother-to-child transmission. HIV cannot survive or reproduce inside mosquitoes. The digestive enzymes of mosquitoes rapidly break down HIV that enters their bodies, rendering the virus inactive. When a mosquito bites, it first injects its own saliva, which contains anticoagulants to prevent blood clotting and facilitate feeding. However, mosquitoes do not inject blood from their previous meal into a new host. Even if a mosquito previously bit an individual with AIDS, blood containing HIV will not be transmitted to the next person bitten.
From the perspective of viral load, the amount of blood ingested by a mosquito during a single feeding is extremely small, and the quantity of HIV contained within it is far below the threshold required to cause infection. Furthermore, after feeding on blood, a mosquito requires several days to digest it and will not bite multiple people in a short period, further reducing the risk of transmission. In general, there is usually no need to worry about the risk of HIV transmission through mosquito bites.
