About Sylvie Expertise I can answer questions about T cell function, immunization, or general immune function including "the immune system gone bad" - autoimmune diseases like Juvenile Diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lupus.
I'm less specialised in AIDS but if it's a specific T cell question, I'm your girl.
Experience I'm a research scientist and university lecturer in Immunology, and I regularly publish peer-reviewed papers. I'm not a medical doctor but I can provide information on how or why the immune system does what it does. Education/Credentials: PhD
Expert: Sylvie Date: 4/14/2008 Subject: hiv contraction/transmission
Question Can a person contract HIV via being bit by a mosquito or other insect that had recently bit an HIV person? (like a few seconds earlier).. Also, could a person contract HIV, by having a really small amount of HIV infected blood go into one of their open wounds?
Thank you.
Answer Hi there Leor,
Interesting questions..! You definitely can't get HIV from a mosquito bite (thank goodness - I don't need any more reasons to hate them), because mosquitoes don't inject human blood back into another person they bite. They only inject a tiny amount of their own saliva, which definitely doesn't contain HIV. The virus can't replicate in a mosquito.
Potentially you can definitely catch HIV with small amounts of blood entering an open wound. The more blood, the more likely transmission is, but yes it's technically possible with a small amount, like a splash.
