When infected with Zika and dengue virus, it is confirmed that the skin emits a scent that attracts mosquitoes
[CSIRO 제공/ 신화 연합뉴스 자료사진/ 재판매 및 DB 금지] [email protected]
Zika and dengue viruses have been shown to entice mosquitoes by changing the odor on the skin of infected animal hosts.
When the mosquitoes gathered in this way suck the infected blood of the host and then bite other animals, the virus spreads, so it is an effective spread strategy.
According to the University of Connecticut in the United States, an international research team led by immunologist Dr. Wang Penghua and others from the university published a study in the biology journal ‘Cell’ that Zika and dengue viruses attract mosquitoes by changing the host’s body odor.
Dengue virus causes 50 million cases and 20,000 deaths annually mainly in tropical and subtropical regions, and Zika virus has recently resulted in pregnant women giving birth to fetuses with serious congenital defects in South America.
Both viruses belong to the flavivirus genus, such as yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, and West Nile virus.
While malaria and general inflammation can alter human body odor, the team took the lead in the idea that Zika and dengue virus infections might do the same.
First, they tested whether mosquitoes preferred mice infected with Zika or dengue viruses. A study of mosquito responses in healthy mice and dengue-infected mice in the same place showed that mice with dengue were more likely to attack.
The research team collected odor molecules from the skins of infected and healthy mice, sorted out molecules that the infected mice had in common, buried them one by one on the hands of healthy mice and volunteers, and analyzed the responses of mosquitoes.
The results showed that a scent-emitting molecule called acetophenone was particularly attracting mosquitoes.
The scent of skin taken from dengue patients was also found to attract more mosquitoes and produce more acetophenone molecules.
Acetophenone is produced by ‘Bacillus bacteria’, rod-shaped bacteria on the skin of mice and humans. However, when infected with dengue or Zika virus, it was confirmed in mice that Bacillus bacteria rapidly increased because antibacterial peptides were not produced much.
“These viruses attempt to spread by manipulating the microbes on the host’s skin to attract mosquitoes,” Wang said.
Using this strategy of mosquito virus, the research team injected ‘isotretinoin’, a vitamin A extract known to increase the production of antibacterial peptides in the skin, into dengue-infected mice. said there was
Dr. Wang said that in the future, he will check whether the isotretinoin prescription is effective in human patients in real situations.
yunhap news