Why Mosquitoes bite you? scientists found the reason now..

Mosquitoes are attracted to certain smells of our body, which depend on … peopl’s contains of becteria. Dutch scientists have identified more specifically these reasons that attract mosquitoes. This is not a track for a new deodorant but hope to limit the Plasmodium infection , the vector of malaria .

Written by Abdullah Al Abbadi

Plasmodium falciparum, visible here at the center of this picture, is the vector of malaria. It colonizes the human cells and is transmitted through the saliva of a mosquito in the sting. © Ute Frevert, Wikipedia, cc by 2.5

Each has been seen: we are not all equal before the mosquitoes . Some suffer all the bites while others are often spared. It’s not a coincidence, but rather because their body odor are more popular with insects .

Originally the fragrances unique to each individuaal, are from the bacteria of the skin . The microbial community varies in number and kind of an individual to another. Researchers at the University of Wageningen (The Netherlands) were asked what were the bacterial compositions most likely to attract female mosquitoes (the males do not sting). Their results are published in Plos One.

Their animal model, Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto, is one of the main of malaria vectors in Africa. The midge has had leisure to taste the blood of 48 male volunteers, which had first examined to know the odor and bacterial community inhabiting their skin.

The bacteria which attract mosquitoes

Among the guinea pigs, nine have been very attractive to mosquitoes and 7, on the contrary, very unattractive. In general, the researchers noted two characteristics of those most frequently bitten:

• Their skin bears a large amount of bacteria;
• Species diversity is lower than that of individuals spared

Most effective mosquito traps

On entering the details, they were able to show that the presence of bacteria Variovorax sp. and Pseudomonas sp. was associated with a low number of bites. Conversely, those associated by Leptotrichia sp. , Delftia sp. and GP3 Actinobacteria sp. mosquitos attracting by highly volatile compounds they emit.

“Compounds that inhibit microbial production of human smell, or manipulation of the composition of bacteria of the skin can reduce the attractiveness of a person for mosquitoes, said Niels Verhulst, lead author of the study. Bacteria identified in this study may help contribute to the development of attractive products for placement in traps for the malaria mosquito. “

Remember that malaria is the disease most common parasitic due to protozoa of the Plasmodium genus . In 2011, a report of the WHO reported 216 million people infected worldwide, of which 81% were in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2010, 655,000 people died. Mosquitoes also cause other parasitic diseases such as dengue , the yellow fever or chikungunya .

Selected sources from editor for further read

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