• About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
The Herald Ghana
Advertisement
  • Home
  • General
  • Entertainment
  • Politics
  • Editorial
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Feature
  • Health
  • World
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • General
  • Entertainment
  • Politics
  • Editorial
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Feature
  • Health
  • World
No Result
View All Result
The Herald Ghana
No Result
View All Result

Why Are Some People Mosquito Magnets?

July 19, 2013
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0

If you feel as if every mosquito in a 50-mile radius has you locked in its sights, while your friends are rarely bitten, you could be right. Up to 20 percent of us are highly alluring to mosquitoes—and scientists have discovered some surprising reasons.

“Both your metabolism and your unique body chemistry—which is as distinctive as a fingerprint—play an important role in determining whether or not you’re a mosquito magnet,” says University of Florida entomology professor Dr. Phil Koehler. “Also, there’s evidence that your degree of attractiveness to mosquitoes can change over time.”

Here are some intriguing discoveries about why some of us are particularly tasty targets for the tiny vampires:

Mosquitoes prefer blood type O: In their quest for a meal, mosquitoes are nearly twice as likely to land on people with type 0 blood than those with type A, according to a Japanese study. Indeed, the biting pests consider type 0 more delectable than any other blood type, the researchers reported. Most people secrete substances that allow mosquitoes to identify blood type before they bite.

RelatedPosts

Ghana records reduction in malaria cases, deaths in 2022

Volta region recorded 35 maternal deaths in 2021

GHS worried over rise in COVID-19 infection among children in Accra

Beer drinkers beware: Swigging just one bottle of beer can significantly boost your risk of being bitten, according to a study published in Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association. The researchers reported that, “Mosquito landing on volunteers significantly increased after beer ingestion compared with before ingestion.”

Watch out for the full moon: The tiny bloodsuckers are 500 times more active when the moon is full. Overall, the highest risk times for mosquito bites are dusk and dawn, with the females of some species migrating up to 40 miles in pursuit of a meal. (Male mosquitoes don’t bite.)

Keep your socks on: The pungent aroma of dirty feet is apparently irresistible to mosquitoes, as a brave scientist, Bart Knols, discovered when he sat in a lab in his underwear to find out which parts of the body the pests are most likely to target. He found that 75 percent of the bugs homed in on his feet, but after he washed them with deodorant soap, the mosquitoes bit randomly. His team also reported that stinky cheeses, such as Limburger—which has the same odoriferous compound responsible for foot odor—also draws mosquitoes.

Mosquitoes know if you’re expecting: Moms-to-be get bitten about twice as often as women who aren’t pregnant, increasing their risk for bug-borne diseases, according to a study conducted in Gambia. The researchers hypothesized that since women in the later stages of pregnancy exhale 21 percent more volume, mosquitoes were drawn in by the moisture and carbon dioxide in their breath. They also found that pregnant women’s abdomens are nearly 1 degree warmer, which may cause more volatile substances—released in sweat and attractive to mosquitoes—to be present on their skin. Not only do several other studies have similar findings, says Dr. Koehler, but “there’s also evidence that women are more attractive to mosquitoes during certain phases of the ovulation cycle.” Studies have mixed results as to whether men or women are more likely to get bitten, he adds.

Running won’t help you: Both the carbon dioxide we exhale and substances in sweat, such as lactic acid, help mosquitoes home in on their prey. As a result, Dr. Koehler reports. “You’re more likely to be bitten if you’re running or exercising than when you’re at rest, since you’re breathing harder and sweating more.” In fact, physical activity ups risk for bites by as much as 50 percent, according to AMCA.
Like vampires, they prefer dark clothes: Dark-colored clothing can increase your risk of falling victim to the little bloodsuckers, compared to lighter-colored garments, says Dr. Koehler. In one study comparing the appeal of various hues to mosquitoes, the researchers reported the following results: black (most attractive); red (very attractive); grey and blue (neutral); khaki, green, light khaki, and yellow (less attractive).

Source: Yahoo

Get real time update about this post categories directly on your device, subscribe now.

Unsubscribe
Previous Post

Natasha And Selly Evicted As A House Merge Looms

Next Post

“MTV BASE MEETS MICHELLE OBAMA” TO AIR DURING Dstv OPEN WEEKEND

RelatedPosts

Ghana records reduction in malaria cases, deaths in 2022

Ghana records reduction in malaria cases, deaths in 2022

1 week ago
Volta region recorded 35 maternal deaths in 2021

Volta region recorded 35 maternal deaths in 2021

5 months ago

GHS worried over rise in COVID-19 infection among children in Accra

7 months ago

GHS wants Hearts of Oak’s matches temporarily suspended over ‘strange’ disease

9 months ago
Covid-19: Ghana experiencing a fourth wave of pandemic – GHS

Covid-19: Ghana experiencing a fourth wave of pandemic – GHS

1 year ago
Covid-19: GHS tightens protocols at KIA over Omicron variant

Covid-19: GHS tightens protocols at KIA over Omicron variant

1 year ago
Next Post

“MTV BASE MEETS MICHELLE OBAMA” TO AIR DURING Dstv OPEN WEEKEND

Egypt Turmoil: Seven Killed In Cairo Clashes

Egypt Turmoil: Seven Killed In Cairo Clashes

Leave Comment
No Result
View All Result

Recent Posts

  • Auditor General’s report and matters arising
  • Alan Kyerematen is a rare servant leader. he is without blemish- Rev Dr Robert Ampiah-Kwofi
  • NPP Under Kufuor lost 2008 election in a run-off, how will the party fare Under Akufo-Addo in 2024?
  • BB Menson the “Virus” returns with Night Train
  • Emirates operates milestone demonstration flight powered with 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

Copyright © 2022 The Herald Ghana. All Rights Reserved

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • General
  • Entertainment
  • Politics
  • Editorial
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Feature
  • Health
  • World

Copyright © 2022 The Herald Ghana. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist