Former Consultant Medical Entomology and Zoology, General Hospital A.O. S. Croce e Carle, Cuneo, Italy.
Department of Emergency, General Hospital A.O. S. Croce e Carle, Cuneo, Italy.
Ann Ig. 2021 Nov-Dec;33(6):583-588. doi: 10.7416/ai.2021.2441. Epub 2021 Mar 30.
SARS-CoV-2 is a coronavirus responsible for the pandemic that developed in China in late 2019. Transmission of the virus is predominantly direct, through exposure to infected respiratory secretions. As far as we know, arthropods play a key role in the transmission and spread of several viruses, and thus their role in the spread of COVID-19 deserves to be studied. The biological transmission of viral agents through insects is very complex. While mechanical transmission is more likely to happen, biological transmission is possible via blood-sucking arthropods, but this requires a high grade of compatibility between the vector and the pathogen. If the biological and mechanical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by blood-sucking arthropods is excluded, a mechanical transmission by urban pests could take place. This risk is very low but it could be important in isolated environmental conditions, where other means of transmission are not possible. The presence of SARS-CoV-2 in non-blood-sucking arthropods in infected buildings, like hospitals and retirement homes, should be investigated.
SARS-CoV-2 是一种冠状病毒，引发了 2019 年末在中国发生的大流行。病毒主要通过接触感染者的呼吸道分泌物进行直接传播。据我们所知，节肢动物在几种病毒的传播和扩散中起着关键作用，因此它们在 COVID-19 传播中的作用值得研究。病毒通过昆虫进行生物传播非常复杂。虽然机械传播更有可能发生，但通过吸血节肢动物进行生物传播是可能的，但这需要载体和病原体之间高度的相容性。如果排除了 SARS-CoV-2 通过吸血节肢动物的生物和机械传播，那么城市害虫的机械传播就有可能发生。这种风险非常低，但在其他传播途径不可能的隔离环境条件下可能很重要。应调查感染建筑物（如医院和养老院）中是否存在非吸血节肢动物中的 SARS-CoV-2。
