Mosquitoes do not choose whose skin to bite at random. According to the scientific community, some people are up to 100 times more attractive to female mosquitoes than others, due to specific substances naturally present on their skin.
Researchers at Rockefeller University in New York found that people with higher levels of certain acids on their skin are up to 100 times more attractive to the female Aedes aegypti mosquito, the species responsible for transmitting diseases including dengue fever, chikungunya, yellow fever and the Zika virus.
What produces the scent
The study, published in the scientific journal Cell, could lead to the development of new products that mask or modify specific human scents, making it more difficult for mosquitoes to detect human blood and potentially limiting the spread of disease.
All humans produce carboxylic acids through sebum, the oily substance that coats the skin. This sebum is then consumed by millions of beneficial microorganisms that colonise human skin, which in turn produce additional carboxylic acids. In large quantities, these acids can produce an odour resembling cheese or unpleasant-smelling feet.
"Think of it as one big protein milkshake"
This scent appears to attract female mosquitoes searching for human blood, which they need to obtain enough protein to reproduce. "Think of it as one big protein milkshake," said Leslie Vosshall, chief scientific officer at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and lead researcher on the study.
"Within just one minute, they can consume a quantity of food that, proportionally, is equivalent to 150 pounds [about 68 kilograms] for a human, and then use it to produce eggs," she added.
Source: The Washington Post
