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Credit: James Gathany
Scientists have found evidence to suggest that malaria parasites change the body odor of their host to attract hungry mosquitos.
The team observed an increase in mosquito attraction to malaria-infected mice, compared to healthy controls.
And the infected mice exhibited elevations in certain components of their natural scent, which suggests the malaria parasite changes the characteristics of its host’s body odor to make the host more attractive to mosquitos.
These findings appear in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The researchers found that mice infected with Plasmodium chabaudii were more attractive to Anopheles stephensi mosquitos than uninfected control mice. And the attraction corresponded to an overall elevation in scent emissions from the infected mice.
However, malaria infection did not appear to trigger the expression of unique scent components. Instead, it seems the malaria pathogens alter the levels of compounds already present in the scent of uninfected mice.
“There appears to be an overall elevation of several compounds that are attractive to mosquitos,” said study author Consuelo De Moraes, PhD, of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETH Zürich).
“Since mosquitos probably don’t benefit from feeding on infected people, it may make sense for the pathogen to exaggerate existing odor cues that the insects are already using for host location,” added study author Mark Mescher, PhD, also of ETH Zürich.
What the researchers found most surprising is the fact that the malaria infection leaves its mark on body odor long-term. Even when infected mice no longer had symptoms, their body odor showed they were carriers of the pathogen.
However, not all stages of disease smelled the same. The team found the scent profile of the acutely ill differed from the profile in mice exhibiting later stages of malaria infection.
Although the findings from this study cannot be directly translated to human malaria, they suggest similar effects might be involved in the attraction of mosquitos to infected people. Drs Mescher and De Moraes are currently investigating this possibility through additional research involving human subjects in Africa. 
Credit: James Gathany
Scientists have found evidence to suggest that malaria parasites change the body odor of their host to attract hungry mosquitos.
The team observed an increase in mosquito attraction to malaria-infected mice, compared to healthy controls.
And the infected mice exhibited elevations in certain components of their natural scent, which suggests the malaria parasite changes the characteristics of its host’s body odor to make the host more attractive to mosquitos.
These findings appear in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The researchers found that mice infected with Plasmodium chabaudii were more attractive to Anopheles stephensi mosquitos than uninfected control mice. And the attraction corresponded to an overall elevation in scent emissions from the infected mice.
However, malaria infection did not appear to trigger the expression of unique scent components. Instead, it seems the malaria pathogens alter the levels of compounds already present in the scent of uninfected mice.
“There appears to be an overall elevation of several compounds that are attractive to mosquitos,” said study author Consuelo De Moraes, PhD, of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETH Zürich).
“Since mosquitos probably don’t benefit from feeding on infected people, it may make sense for the pathogen to exaggerate existing odor cues that the insects are already using for host location,” added study author Mark Mescher, PhD, also of ETH Zürich.
What the researchers found most surprising is the fact that the malaria infection leaves its mark on body odor long-term. Even when infected mice no longer had symptoms, their body odor showed they were carriers of the pathogen.
However, not all stages of disease smelled the same. The team found the scent profile of the acutely ill differed from the profile in mice exhibiting later stages of malaria infection.
Although the findings from this study cannot be directly translated to human malaria, they suggest similar effects might be involved in the attraction of mosquitos to infected people. Drs Mescher and De Moraes are currently investigating this possibility through additional research involving human subjects in Africa.
Credit: James Gathany
Scientists have found evidence to suggest that malaria parasites change the body odor of their host to attract hungry mosquitos.
The team observed an increase in mosquito attraction to malaria-infected mice, compared to healthy controls.
And the infected mice exhibited elevations in certain components of their natural scent, which suggests the malaria parasite changes the characteristics of its host’s body odor to make the host more attractive to mosquitos.
These findings appear in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The researchers found that mice infected with Plasmodium chabaudii were more attractive to Anopheles stephensi mosquitos than uninfected control mice. And the attraction corresponded to an overall elevation in scent emissions from the infected mice.
However, malaria infection did not appear to trigger the expression of unique scent components. Instead, it seems the malaria pathogens alter the levels of compounds already present in the scent of uninfected mice.
“There appears to be an overall elevation of several compounds that are attractive to mosquitos,” said study author Consuelo De Moraes, PhD, of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETH Zürich).
“Since mosquitos probably don’t benefit from feeding on infected people, it may make sense for the pathogen to exaggerate existing odor cues that the insects are already using for host location,” added study author Mark Mescher, PhD, also of ETH Zürich.
What the researchers found most surprising is the fact that the malaria infection leaves its mark on body odor long-term. Even when infected mice no longer had symptoms, their body odor showed they were carriers of the pathogen.
However, not all stages of disease smelled the same. The team found the scent profile of the acutely ill differed from the profile in mice exhibiting later stages of malaria infection.
Although the findings from this study cannot be directly translated to human malaria, they suggest similar effects might be involved in the attraction of mosquitos to infected people. Drs Mescher and De Moraes are currently investigating this possibility through additional research involving human subjects in Africa.