A new study has discovered why mosquitoes are attracted to some people more than others. According to the researchers, certain viruses can make the smell of an infected person more “appetizing” to a mosquito. Zika and dengue are viruses that infect humans and are spread through mosquito bites. The researchers found that these viruses manipulate the hosts’ skin microbiome, which creates a molecule that attracts insects. As more mosquitoes are likely to bite the infected person, the chances of transmitting the virus also increase.
Zika and dengue viruses both belong to the same family of viruses and are spread through mosquito bites. Found mainly in tropical and subtropical areas, dengue fever can cause pain, rashes, bleeding and even death. Although Zika virus does not cause serious illness in adults, it has caused birth defects in unborn children of infected women in recent cases.
However, these are the only dangers that viruses pose to the human body. In the new study, the researchers noted that these viruses tend to alter the host’s odor, thereby attracting more mosquitoes. These insects then bite the infected person, consuming their blood and contributing to the transmission of the virus.
A team of researchers from UConn Health, Tsinghua University in Beijing and the Shenzhen Institute of Infectious Diseases, among others, conducted a test to verify the preference of mosquitoes for mice. By giving them a choice between a healthy mouse and an infected mouse, mosquitoes were found to be more attracted to mice with dengue fever.
The team then looked at the odor molecules present on the skin of infected and healthy mice. They observed that certain molecules were common to infected animals, after which a test was carried out.
The molecules were applied to clean mice and to the hands of human volunteers. The results of the experiment revealed that an odorous molecule called acetophenone attracted mosquitoes by its smell. This phenomenon has also been observed in skin odorants taken from human dengue fever patients, where increased production of acetophenone was found, attracting more mosquitoes.
“The virus can manipulate the skin microbiome of hosts to attract more mosquitoes and spread faster!” said Penghua Wang, an immunologist at UConn Health and one of the authors of the study published in Cell.
The researchers also evaluated a type of vitamin A derivative called isotretinoin in dengue-infected mice. They found that it suppressed the production of the acetophenone molecule and the mice attracted fewer mosquitoes.
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