Does a mosquito die after biting a person on anticoagulation?

[dtread]

Inquiring minds want to know: does a mosquito die after biting a person on anticoagulation?

Most folks on this forum are aware that the original use for Warfarin was as a rat poison (and it is still used for that purpose). The rat dies after ingesting Warfarin because when ingested in large quantities it causes internal bleeding.

But what about a mosquito that bites a person on anticoagulation? The mosquito is ingesting a large quantity of blood as a percentage of their body size, and hence a large quantity of Warfarin also. So, does the mosquito suffer internal bleeding and die? See, for example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7V_GBQclQfc

I contacted the American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA) at www.mosquito.org My question to them (by email) is as follows:

Hello, I have to take the anticoagulant medication Warfarin (aka Coumadin) for a heart condition, which is also used as a Rat Poison. When Warfarin is ingested in large amounts, such as by a rat, it causes internal bleeding and the rat dies. I was wondering whether you might know if there have ever been any studies completed, or whether anyone has ever investigated the effect that there might be on a mosquito that bites a person that is on Warfarin? Figuring that a mosquito, by percentage of body weight, would be ingesting a pretty substantial quantity of Warfarin along with the blood that it sucks from a person on Warfarin, there might be a possibility that it would kill the mosquito. I know this probably sounds far-fetched, but I thought it might be worth looking into.

The response I received from Mr. Joseph M. Conlon, Technical Advisor to the American Mosquito Control Association is as follows:

I, too, am on coumadin (7.5 mg/day) as therapy for a pulmonary embolism. Your question is an interesting one. Be advised that the clotting function (that is affected by warfarin) in mosquitoes is of a profoundly different nature than that in mammals and would not be affected by warfarin. Indeed, mosquitoes do not posess blood, per se, but a substance called "haemolymph" which provides turgor and waste transport for the mosquito. Oxygen is taken up by the mosquitoes directly through spiracles and directed to organs via tracheoles.

Highest regards,

Joseph M. Conlon
Technical Advisor
American Mosquito Control Association
P/F: 904-215-3008
Hours: M/W/F 1:00 - 5:00 PM
T/TH 12:00 - 5:00 PM

So, there is the answer. It is not the answer that I wanted to hear, as I was hoping that at least I might be able to get some satisfaction in knowing that the little bastards would die, but such is not the case.

 

[ChouDoufu]

even if'n they had blood, it would still come down to "ingested in large quantities."
they would be sucking blood containing warfarin, that had already been diluted.
if they sucked blood from a rat that had just ingested a fatal amount, maybe the
amount in the blood would be fatal to the suckee?

but what about people? what if, say, someone in, i don't know, borneo, taking
warfarin, was bitten by a mosquito carrying sleeping sickness. would it be possible
for the victim to bleed to death and sleep through the whole thing, like, wake up
dead?

 

[hensylee]

huh? this thread could grow and grow and................

 

[Lorraine]

I was always told that a mesquito will die after it bites because the mesquito explodes because it fills up with blood in such a tiny body. I guess I was told wrong since I was a little girl! I did think that warfarin would kill it too once I was on it. Too bad!

As far as I'm concerned, if one bites me and I know it, it will be dead anyway, because I slap it and it splatters!

 

[Freddie]

I've been under the impression that a mosquito dies after it bites a person - and I don't mean after you smack it and its the stinger that makes you itch.

 

[Bina]

Okay, were you all drinking last night and had wild dreams???? ha ha

 

[Lorraine]

Freddie, you are absolutely right. That was what I was told. The stinger stays in, and that is why you itch. I smack it anyway!

Well, Bina, I did have a couple of lite beers with dinner! Don;t think I was drunk!

 

[Bina]

Actually, only the females bite. They inject a tiny amount of saliva, anti-coagulant, anti-platelet, enzymes, and proteins into the blood of their victim. The stinger does not stay in.

 

[Freddie]

Just full of information aren't you Bina......even on a Sunday morning So what makes us itch if there is no stinger?

 

[Bina]

It's your body's own immune system reacting to the invasion by producing histamine.

 

[ChouDoufu]

i was told they don't die after biting, at least not immediately. they use the blood
in order to lay eggs.

another interesting question: if your "blood thinner" is affecting the skeeter, does
the skeeter's natural anti-coagulant affect your inr? so someone living in a swamp
shouldn't need warfarin at all.....just spend an hour outside every evening running
naked through the swamp? and no more blood draws -- just squarsh a skeeter on
a test strip?

 

[Bina]

ChouDoufu, you can run naked in the swamp all you want......just make sure to come back and share your scientific results with us all. Ha ha

 

[njean]

I do notice that "skeeters" do not really like the taste of my blood! They prefer to go after my husband or my pets more so than me!

"I hate skeeters & I can't wait until the first freeze so they can freeze their arse off!"

 

[Lisa in Katy]

Some time back we discussed what we could do if we suddenly found ourselves without Warfarin, and I believe mosquitoes came as a solution!

When I taught first grade, we did a classroom research project on mosquitoes. Living on the Gulf Coast, mosquitoes are something that all the kids are very familiar with. Here's what we learned.

Mosquitoes aren't like bees, which have a stinger on their rear end. Bees sting to protect themselves. Mosquitoes bite as a required part of their life cycle. It is actually their proboscis (nose) that they bite with, and yes, only the females have a proboscis, so only the females bite. They stick their proboscis in you (kind of like a hollow needle), inject a small amount of saliva, which contains an anticoagulant, and suck the blood out. Our body's reaction to the saliva is what makes us itch. They do live after they bite, because as someone else said, they use the protein in blood for laying eggs. The females can live for weeks, continually biting and laying eggs. The males, however, die shortly after mating. (Yet more proof that males aren't good for much )

Also, in Spanish (the language that many of my students first learned), the word mosca means fly, so mosquito means "little fly."

Each year we voted on which bug to research, and one of two always one. If you'd like to know about cockroaches, that was the other one!

 

[Freddie]

Please keep the cockroaches, I have to deal with sow bugs yuck

 

[Lisa in Katy]

Please keep the cockroaches, I have to deal with sow bugs yuck

You mean pill bugs, also called roly-polys or doodle bugs? We have lots of those too. We played with them a lot when I was a kid, touching them so they'd roll up in a ball and then holding them in our hands until they unrolled and crawled on us. Why do you say yuck? I always thought they were cool! Of course, I'm kind of weird!

However, there's nothing cool about our 2" long cockroaches! I went into the garage the other night to get something out of my car and one fell on me. I let out a scream. I'm sure the neighbors thought I'd been murdered.

Since it doesn't get very cold here, we have a veritable smorgasbord of bugs year round.

 

[zipper2]

All pics of bugs........fine but you start posting

rats and or mice be sure they've got to have

no tails,Oh my can't stand mice with long tails

The start of post was rats and mice on warfarin

Ei ya Ei i'm not ........ gotta go the thought

zipper2 (DEB)

 

[Ross]

Oh how I wish they just blew up! I'm afraid our Coumadin tainted blood does nothing more to them then give them meal. I've actually sat and watched them gourge and then fly off. Some flew off, some just exploded on my arm. Glutton!

 

[Bina]

I remember on a winter vacation trip to the Florida Keys where I stayed in a small, older motel (I hate new fancy stuff) and so we expected bugs of some sort but when this "Beast" dropped from the ceiling vent in the shower, I yelled.
It was a humongous Palmetto (cockroach).....fear factor stuff.
Of course the little lizards running on the walls were adorable.

 

[Lisa in Katy]

All pics of bugs........fine but you start posting

rats and or mice be sure they've got to have

no tails,Oh my can't stand mice with long tails

The start of post was rats and mice on warfarin

Ei ya Ei i'm not ........ gotta go the thought

zipper2 (DEB)

I had two classroom rats for a couple of years. They were quite cute and personable (for rodents). Their names were Taco and Frito (named such by 1st graders because they were born on May 5th - Cinco de Mayo). Unlike mice, hamsters, and other rodents, rats rarely bite, so they are a good classroom pet.

Again, I repeat, I'm kind of weird!