TEMPO.CO, London - Researchers discovered that mosquitos infected by malaria and carrying thenparasites are thee times more attracted to human odors. They believe that the deadly parasites take control of the mosquitos and improve their sense of smell. "What is fascinating is how smart the parasites are. They are organisms that continue to develop and seem to have been one-step ahead the whole time," said Dr. James Logan from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).
To carry out this study, the researchers infected a malaria mosquito (Anopheles gambiae) with a deadly parasite, Plasmodium Falciparum. They placed around 100 infected mosquitos into a container, along with a number of nylon stockings that have been used by volunteers for 20 hours. "This is a very effective way of collecting odor. The odor will remain attracting the mosquitos for months," said Dr. Logan. The researchers then repeated the whole experiment to the uninfected mosquitos.
They later discovered that mosquitos carrying parasites are three times more sensitive to the smell of the stocking. Scientists believed that this is attributable to the role of the parasites that manipulate the smelling ability of the mosquitos.
By making humans an easy target, the parasite is more likely to be passed into the blood stream - ensuring its survival and continuing the spread of the deadly disease. "If we know how the parasite is able to manipulate the olfactory system, perhaps we can identify new attractants for infected mosquitoes and we will be able to increase our efficiency with trapping techniques.
According to the latest figures, the World Health Organization said there were about 219 million cases of malaria in 2010 and 660,000 deaths. Africa is the most affected continent with 90% of malaria-caused deaths.
ISMI WAHID
