Do you constantly get bitten by mosquitoes? Researchers explain that it would be due to the presence of fatty acids on your skin, resulting in an irresistible scent for these insects…
- Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes are the main vector species for Zika virus infection, dengue fever, yellow fever and chikungunya.
- They detect human odors with two olfactory receptors: the Orco and IR receptors.
Why do some people get bitten more by mosquitoes? This is a question that many people ask themselves. According to several hypotheses, blood sugar level, blood type, consumption of certain foods, being a woman or a child could explain why a person may be the favorite snack of these pests. . But, “this phenomenon is still poorly understood”said researchers at Rockefeller University in the United States.
Odor of the skin: variations linked to the skin microbiota
This is why they decided to carry out work published in the journal Cell. As part of this study, the scientists tested one of the theories that could explain the greater or lesser attraction of mosquitoes to a human body: variations in odors linked to the skin microbiota.
To carry out the research, the team recruited 64 adults and followed them for three years. Participants had to wear nylon sleeves on their forearms for six hours a day. They repeated this process over several days to collect samples of their skin odors. Next, the authors tested the attractiveness of the nylon sleeves by exposing them to mosquitoes Aedes Aegypti.
Certain fatty acids on the skin attract mosquitoes like magnets
According to the results, the fatty acids emanating from the skin create a scent that attracts mosquitoes. “There is a very, very strong link between having high amounts of these fatty acids on your skin and being a mosquito magnet,” said Leslie Vosshall, author of the work, in a statement.
One of the volunteers, named “subject 33” was four times more attractive to mosquitoes than the second most attractive person, and 100 times more attractive than the least attractive participant, namely “subject 19”. According to the researchers, the people who attracted the most mosquitoes produced significantly more carboxylic acids. These substances are present in sebum and are used by bacteria in our skin to produce our body odor.
“Understanding why some human beings are real mosquito magnets allows us to understand which skin odors are the most attractive to mosquitoes and could lead to the development of more effective repellents”the authors concluded.