Re: If the mosquito can digest HIV, how does he do so?

Viruses exhibits a kind of particular preference for the type of proteins which they use as receptors to infect the target cell, in the case of HIV, the CD4 molecule. Since mosquitos doesn't even have lymphocytes, they can't be infected by the HIV, what makes really hard for the virus to keep itself. The virus necessarily needs a target cell to keep itself and therefore to infect more cells(or other peoples cells, from the point of view of the virus, it doesn't matter), in mosquitos it simply doesn't happen.

The presence of target cells bearing the CD4 molecule (not only lymphocytes, but macrophages, endothelial cells, intestinal cells, Central Nervous System cells can bear the CD4 molecule too) is a major factor in HIV transmission, an ilustration of this is the strong association of HIV infection and sexual diseases, which brings the sexual organs full of CD4 bearing cells.

Hope all is clear. Sincerly,

Vitor