Scientists may have figured out part of the reason why mosquitoes are drawn to people infected with malaria.
Mosquitoes prefer biting people already sickened by malaria, apparently attracted by some kind of odor. Now, Swedish researchers say they’ve identified a substance pumped out by malaria parasites that triggers that smell, noticeable only to mosquitoes.
“This is a very interesting piece of the puzzle,” said Alvaro Acosta Serrano, a parasite researcher at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, who was not part of the new study.
About 95 percent dove straight into the blood with the malaria substance.
