Ever wonder why you attract mosquitoes more than other people? You are outside, enjoying a good outing with your friends but a constant swarms of mosquitoes follows you everywhere. Result? Piercing pain in several places of your body, leaving behind red itchy welts.
Did you ever think why mosquitoes tend to bite you more than others? It might be because of your smell, unfortunately.
A new study finds that some people really are “mosquito magnets” and it probably has to do with the way they smell.
According to a paper published on Tuesday in the scientific journal Cell on Tuesday, every person has a unique scent profile made up of different chemical compounds and researchers found that those who produce high levels of carboxylic acids were more attractive to mosquitoes, reports CNA.
Researchers discovered the fact through an experiment where different people’s scents were pitted against each other.
A total of 64 volunteers participated in the study and were asked to wear nylon stockings around their forearms so that researchers could collect their skin odour samples.
Over several months, researchers placed two different stockings into a closed container housing female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, to see which stocking would attract more mosquitoes.
A round-robin tournament revealed findings that suggest that some people are more attractive than others to mosquitoes.
The biggest mosquito magnet had an attractiveness score of more than 100 times greater than that of the two least attractive subjects.
An analysis of the subjects’ scent profiles showed that the ones who were mosquito magnets produced carboxylic acids, used by bacteria on human skin to produce unique body odors, at much higher levels than others.
The least attractive subjects produced these carboxylic acids much less.
Researchers said findings from the study could have important public health implications, since it is estimated that in disease-endemic areas, a small fraction of humans is more frequently targeted, reports CNA.
These individuals serve as a reservoir of pathogens.
This findings could proven useful in making effective mosquito repellents, reports phys.org. The only way to change someone's odor, the researchers say, is to manipulate skin microbiomes; and, if possible, slathering the skin of someone with the compounds of someone not as attractive to mosquitoes could help the person avoid being bitten.