How dengue and Zika infections could make people more attractive to mosquitoes
Stat, June 30, 2022
A study, published in Cell, identifies a specific scent emitted from both Zika- and dengue-infected mice that makes them more attractive to mosquitos than those without the viruses. It also points to a potential route to neutralize the olfactory flag. “This is a highly, highly influential study,” said Nikolaos Vasilakis, a professor of pathology at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston who was not involved with the research. “I’m pretty sure it’s going to foster or spin off several new lines of experimentation to get a better understanding of what’s happening in humans.”