It's possible, though uncommon. A mosquito that has fed on different infected hosts can pick up more than one pathogen, and if it does, a single bite could pass along multiple diseases at once.
The idea of catching multiple mosquito-borne diseases at once is pretty scary. And it doesn’t help that it is possible. So it’s worth understanding how this can happen, even though it’s rare.
Mosquitoes pick up pathogens by biting infected hosts. Over its life, a female mosquito will feed multiple times. If she happens to feed on different hosts carrying different pathogens, or a single host with a co-infection, she can carry more than one pathogen at the same time. Then that can be given to you via a single unlucky mosquito bite.
The reason this is rare is because of just how many things have to line up. For one, the pathogens have to be circulating in the local host population at the time. And the mosquito has to acquire more than one and then go on to bite you. Most mosquitoes, just to provide some perspective, don’t carry anything at all. Those that do almost all carry one pathogen at a time.
That said, it's a real possibility rather than a hypothetical, particularly where several mosquito-borne viruses circulate together. It’s something doctors are learning to watch out for. In the Los Angeles area, the invasive Aedes mosquitoes can carry diseases like dengue, Zika, and chikungunya. Where more than one disease is circulating, it’s not out of the question for a mosquito to carry both.
If you're tired of leaving your family's exposure to chance, Mosquito Squad of Los Angeles can help. Mosquito Squad reduces the mosquito population in your yard so there are far fewer bites to worry about. This can help you to protect your family with up to 90% reduction in mosquito activity on a recurring 21-day cycle.
