Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => Cells, Microbes & Viruses => Topic started by: thedoc on 17/07/2012 06:30:01

Title: Can a mosquito pick up malaria from an infected human?
Post by: thedoc on 17/07/2012 06:30:01

Torry  asked the Naked Scientists:
   
Hi Chris

When a person had malaria and another mosquito bites that person can that mosquito became a malaria carrying mosquito?

Thanks
Torry Coetzee

What do you think?

Title: Re: Can a mosquito pick up malaria from an infected human?
Post by: CliffordK on 17/07/2012 08:00:12

Yes,

Mosquitoes become carriers of malaria from sucking human blood.   There are no major animal reservoirs of malaria, other than perhaps some primates.

Title: Re: Can a mosquito pick up malaria from an infected human?
Post by: Don_1 on 17/07/2012 10:56:12

Most certainly yes.

Title: Re: Can a mosquito pick up malaria from an infected human?
Post by: confusious says on 17/05/2013 09:24:00

Yes, that is how most of the malaria is spread, I think that other animals being bitten that are carrying malaria also do this.

Title: Re: Can a mosquito pick up malaria from an infected human?
Post by: yellowcat on 04/06/2013 22:42:50

Yes, that is how malaria is spread.
I am not sure if this has been tested but I would expect that people with malaria would be more attractive to mosquitos and that infected mosquitos would be more inclined to feed from uninfected people.

Title: Re: Can a mosquito pick up malaria from an infected human?
Post by: tangoblue on 22/07/2013 09:57:59

Yes, a mosquito (anopheles most of the time in sure 'bites' an infected human, becomes infected, bites another human and the cycle continues.  So if a mosquito did NOT become infected when it bit an infected human, malaria's life cycle would be broken.

Scientists have actually tried to do this as a way of stopping malaria.

Malaria life-cycle: http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/about/biology/ (http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/about/biology/)