Some viruses are able to change their host's fragrance in order to draw additional mosquitoes.
Both mice and human patients underwent observation for the phenomenon.
Through mosquito bites, Zika and dengue fever are transmitted.

The cause of why certain humans are more attractive to mosquitoes than others has been uncovered by a recent study. According to studies, some viruses can make an infected person smell 'tastier' to a mosquito. Human-infecting viruses like Zika and dengue illness spread through mosquito bites.

The scientists found that these viruses alter the skin microbiome of their hosts, which produces a chemical that attracts insects. The likelihood of the virus spreading also rises as more mosquitoes are likely to bite the affected person. Both the zika virus and the dengue fever virus are transmitted by mosquito bites and are members of the same family of viruses. 

Dengue fever, which is primarily found in tropical and subtropical regions, can result in excruciating pains, rashes, haemorrhaging, and even death. Although the Zika virus does not cause major illness in adults, it has recently been linked to birth abnormalities in the unborn infants of infected mothers.

The preference of mosquitoes for mice was tested by a group of researchers from UConn Health, Tsinghua University in Beijing, and the Institute of Infectious Diseases in Shenzhen, among others. Mosquitoes were shown to be more drawn to the dengue-infected mice when given the choice between a healthy mouse and one that was afflicted.

The group then looked at the pungent substances on the skin of both sick and healthy mice. They conducted a test after discovering that particular chemicals were prevalent in diseased animals.

Clean mice and volunteer subjects' hands received the molecules. The experiment's findings showed that the odour of the odoriferous molecule acetophenone attracted mosquitoes. Additionally, greater acetophenone synthesis, which attracted more mosquitoes, was detected in the skin odorants collected from human dengue patients. 

According to Penghua Wang, an immunologist at UConn Health and one of the study's authors, the virus can change the skin microbiome of its hosts to draw in more mosquitoes and spread more quickly. Additionally, scientists examined the effects of isotretinoin, a vitamin A derivative, on dengue-infected mice. They noticed that since the acetophenone molecule's production was reduced, the mice attracted fewer mosquitoes.