• Question: * Star Question * Why do some people get bitten by mosquitos and others don't? - Maddie, Live Chat

    Asked by on 8 Jul 2020. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Valerie Vancollie

      Valerie Vancollie answered on 8 Jul 2020:

      Hello Maddie,
      That’s a wonderful question though unfortunately I don’t think we have the entire answer to this question yet.
      One thing we do know is that there is a genetic component to this, mostly likely in the effect our genes have on our body odours. We know this as a few years ago there was an experiment on sets of either identical or non-identical twins. The identical one were equally attractive to the mosquitoes used on the experiment, while with the non-identical the mosquistoes seemed to have more of a preference for one of the twins over the other.
      So some of why you are or aren’t attractive to mosquitoes is genetic, but there are other factors being looked at too. For instance what you eat could alter your body odour, so that could have an effect. There could also be other factors like how much CO2 you are producing, whether a woman is pregnant or not…

    • Photo: Alena Pance

      Alena Pance answered on 8 Jul 2020: last edited 8 Jul 2020 8:58 am

      Hi Mia and Maddie,
      This is indeed a puzzling question. I have observed this myself… me being one of those people who gets ‘eaten’ by mosquitoes wherever I go, so I would really like to know. Mosquitoes find their ‘victim’ by temperature and mainly smell so given that we all have a temperature hovering around 37 degrees, it must be the smell. There are studies showing that mosquitoes are attracted by smell and we all smell differently…. to the mosquito. The kind of smells that mosquitoes are attracted to can be simulated by things like lactic acid, ammonia, butanoic acid and CO2, among others. This is the basis for one of those old remedies of taking vitamin B complex if going to a tropical region, because it makes us exhude a smell that naturally repels mosquitoes.

    • Photo: Sonia Rodriguez

      Sonia Rodriguez answered on 8 Jul 2020:

      Hi Maddie,
      Valerie and Valerie have already given you great answers.
      The reasons are not very clear as yet, or could be several. Apart from the possibilities they have mentioned, experts have found that having type 0 blood can also make you more attractive to mosquitoes.
      As you can see there are many factors behind mosquitoes preferences.

    • Photo: Sophie Adjalley

      Sophie Adjalley answered on 9 Jul 2020: last edited 9 Jul 2020 12:09 pm

      Hi Maddie,
      thanks again for this awesome question during the live chat!
      Valerie, Alena and Sonia have provided some great answers already, that might explain why your sister is less bitten than you by mosquitoes! When looking at mosquitoes from an infectious disease’s point of view, I would just add that there are studies that suggest that mosquitoes are also more attracted to children with malaria! Now, if this is the case, it has some serious implications in terms of transmission and propagation of this deadly disease, as it would mean that in malaria-endemic areas mosquitoes will tend to bite children, who carry malaria parasites, may thus pick some up and be able to transmit those parasites to the next person they bite…

Comments