The mosquito bite that infected the mosquitoes with the virus

It is the month of August, a month when the monsoon is at its peak. Floods in the North-East states, non-stop rains in Mumbai and West and dark clouds and showers all across the country. It’s time to breathe clean air, see greenery all across, and also get ready for the mosquito bite. One loves to enjoy such weather by sitting in the open but the mosquito with their bite and the housefly with their irritating licking moves make things a bit difficult.

This is the story of the mosquitoes who because of their biting habits got into trouble. The monsoon of 2020 is proving to be difficult for the entire mankind suffering from the pandemic. Healthy people are wearing masks and maintaining social distance while the ones who are suffering are in quarantine.

The bite that made the mosquito sick

It is during this period that one of the mosquitoes went and bit a patient suffering from the virus. The virus got transferred to him and after 4-5 days he started showing symptoms of fever, cough, loss of smell, and taste. He immediately visited a doctor for his advice. The doctor suggested that he should get admitted to a hospital as he was suffering from mobid-19 (mosquito bite -19).

The mosquito had just lost his job. He questioned the doctor why hospital and why not room quarantine? Getting admitted to a private hospital was expensive and being jobless he will not be able to afford it. The doctor was sympathetic to him and asked how he lost his job. The mosquito explained that he used to work in a company in Cybercity, Gurgaon but since all employees started working from home, he had to leave the premises as there was a shortage of blood.

Doctor advises hospitalisation

The doctor told him that because of the loss of smell the mosquito will not be able to track his victim and bite. On the other hand, the loss of taste will result in killing his appetite for blood. This may lead to starvation. In the hospital, he will be given blood through an intravenous drip. The mosquito though concerned was also thrilled. Getting blood without biting people seemed a dream come true for him.

There was one more advantage of getting admitted to hospital vis-à-vis home quarantine. Medical Insurance companies are willing to reimburse for hospitalisation but not room quarantine. The mosquito understood the doctor’s point of view and decided to get admitted to a private hospital.

Mosquito family quarantines and decides not to bite

The mosquito family goes into quarantine for 2 weeks while the mosquito himself gets admitted to Mortis hospital. He was kept in a separate room and was checked for blood pressure and pulse rate. The blood pressure was on the lower side as the mosquito had not tasted blood since he got unwell. Earlier when he and his family attacked the humans, they used to sit in groups but off-late he had noticed that everybody was maintaining a distance. The reason for humans maintaining social distancing was now clear to him. It was to avoid the infectious disease.

The room for the mosquitoes suffering from mobid-19 was in the basement. It was a dark and dingy place just to make the mosquitoes comfortable. The mosquito was put on a blood transfusion. Seeing a huge bottle of human blood in a bottle, the mosquito nearly fainted. He had never seen so much human blood in his life.

The mosquito gets company

The mosquito woke up after an hour and saw a housefly on the next bed. He checked out of curiosity if she was also suffering from the coronavirus and the housefly said yes. The mosquito was surprised as the housefly doesn’t bite humans and only licks. He had heard that in the human world there are two kinds of suckers – one who will bite you from behind and others who will lick you. People are wary of the ones who bite but generally fall in the trap of the ones who lick. Though in the end, both are harmful.

The housefly replied that the coronavirus is more contagious through the nasal droppings which the houseflies love to lick and that is how she got the virus. The mosquito smiled that it’s for the first time in their life cycle that both mosquito and housefly have been admitted to a hospital. Before this, it was only their victims who got admitted. Mosquitoes are known to spread dengue, chikungunya, and malaria through its bite while the houseflies are known for spreading cholera, gastroenteritis, etc.

There is panic in the mosquito community

The mosquito recovers in a week and settles his bills through the cashless Mediclaim policy. He immediately meets the seniors of his community and explains the problem that how mobid-19 can be lethal for mosquitoes. There is total chaos in the community. It’s a catch 22 situation for them. If they bite humans, they run the risk of catching mobid-19 through an infected human. On the other hand, if they stop biting people they will die of starvation.

The community decides to meet the minister

The mosquito leader had another problem on hand. Mosquitoes employed in factories of Manesar and Noida and other industrial complexes were looking at a bleak future. Most of the factories had stopped functioning and the migrant labour working there had returned to their native place. In the absence of humans, it was difficult for their community to survive.

The community leaders decide to make a representation to the Home Minister to help them save their race. But at the gate, they are informed that the Home Minister is himself admitted to a hospital as he had tested positive for covid-19. The leaders return home disappointed.

Finally, the mosquito who had just recovered from mobid-19 comes out with a solution. The mosquitoes will not visit any home that is under quarantine. They will only bite those people who are not in quarantine. The leaders also advise the entire community that after every bite they should wash their maxillae (the biting teeth) that they use to pierce human skin with soap and water.

To get an update on vaccine research in India by Serum Institute click on the following link: https://www.seruminstitute.com/news.php

You can read similar stories on my blog by clicking on the following link:

A Virus Invasion in the world of Mosquitoes and Houseflies

Housefly and Mosquito: A never-ending fight