Latest news with #WorldMosquitoProgram
Time of India
6 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
5 common mistakes that attract mosquitoes to you
They may be tiny, but mosquitoes are considered the deadliest animals on Earth, responsible for spreading diseases like malaria, dengue, Zika, and yellow fever. According to the World Mosquito Program, these buzzing bloodsuckers contribute to over one million deaths every year, making it worth understanding what draws them in. Not considering your blood type Some blood types are more attractive to mosquitoes than others — and unfortunately, this isn't something you can control. In a 2022 study , researchers found that different mosquito species show distinct preferences: Type O: Highly attractive to the Asian tiger mosquito ( Aedes albopictus ) Type AB: A favorite of the marsh mosquito ( Anopheles gambiae ) Even more interesting : around 80% of people naturally secrete a substance through their skin that reveals their blood type. If you're a "secretor," you're more likely to get bitten — regardless of your actual blood group. Producing more carbon dioxide Mosquitoes have a strong sense for carbon dioxide, and they can detect it from over 100 feet away. That's bad news if you breathe heavily, talk a lot outdoors, and sleep with your mouth open. Because CO₂ is exhaled through your nose and mouth, mosquitoes are often drawn to your head and face first. That constant buzzing near your ear? Not your imagination. Letting sweat and skin bacteria build up Mosquitoes don't just smell sweat; they analyze it. Your skin produces several chemical cues that they love- lactic acid and ammonia in sweat, bacteria that mix with sweat to form unique body odors, and carboxylic acids, or fatty acids, which one study found in higher concentrations in people most prone to bites. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like They Were So Beautiful Before; Now Look At Them; Number 10 Will Shock You Cash Roadster Undo Overlooking Factors Like Pregnancy and Alcohol Certain conditions can amplify your mosquito appeal. One such is pregnancy. A 2000 study in Africa found that pregnant women attracted twice as many mosquitoes as non-pregnant women. This was linked to increased carbon dioxide output and higher body temperature during late pregnancy. Another is beer. Even a single bottle can make a difference. In one study, participants who drank a liter of beer attracted significantly more mosquitoes than those who drank water. The reason isn't fully understood, but it may be due to alcohol's effect on body chemistry and temperature. Wearing the wrong clothes and eating the wrong foods Clothing and diet also matter. Mosquitoes are visual hunters, and they're drawn more to dark colors like green and black than to lighter shades such as white or gray. As for food, while evidence is still emerging, one study from the University of Wisconsin found that eating bananas increased mosquito contact. Folk wisdom also points to salty, sweet, spicy, or potassium-rich foods as potential culprits, but the banana link is one of the few backed by research. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Friendship Day wishes , messages and quotes !
Sydney Morning Herald
11-06-2025
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
The hidden menace on the rise in Australia's favourite winter holiday destinations
Of the 13,343 dengue cases reported in Australian between 2012 and 2022, 94 per cent were contracted overseas, mostly from Thailand and Indonesia, a Journal of Travel Medicine study found. One paper estimated six out of every 1000 travellers to high-risk areas catch dengue per month. Several variants are circulating at once, driving the current outbreaks. Climate change has also expanded mosquito habitats, accelerated breeding cycles and shortened the time the virus needs to replicate within its insect hosts, Dr Gregor Devine at the World Mosquito Program said. Warmer temperatures may have also weakened a key weapon dispatched against dengue-carrying mosquitoes across Asia and the Pacific, including Australia. When mosquitoes are infected with a type of bacteria called Wolbachia, their ability to transmit viruses is vastly reduced. Scientists have bred Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes into local populations around Cairns and Townsville, for example, and almost eradicated local cases of dengue. (A case reported in Cairns in May, however, marked the first locally acquired dengue infection since 2018). The World Mosquito Program rolled out the technique in two regions of Bali last year and expects it could prevent half a million dengue cases over 15 years. Similar programs are planned or underway in other badly hit countries including Kiribati and Timor-Leste. The bacteria, however, are sensitive to heat and start to die off within mosquito larva when temperatures surpass 30 degrees, mosquito expert Dr Perran Stott-Ross from the University of Melbourne said. That could contribute to more dengue cases as hot days and heat waves become more frequent. 'There's a pretty clear link between temperature and Wolbachia loss,' Stott-Ross said. 'We know when Cairns had its hottest day on record several years ago that the Wolbachia took a bit of a hit.' Loading There is another proposed dengue-busting proposal on the table, but Stott-Ross is cautious about the idea while the Wolbachia approach remains effective. UK company Oxitec and the CSIRO have applied to release genetically modified male mosquitoes in Queensland to slash populations of invasive, disease-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Oxitec's mosquitos pass on a DNA tweak which kills female larvae. But Stott-Ross is concerned that could undermine the Wolbachia method if there's a crash in mosquito numbers and then mosquitoes without the bacteria re-populate. 'I think it's a really useful technology. I just don't think there's a need for it in Australia at the moment,' he said. 'We've already got something which seems to be working quite well which is the Wolbachia, and it's already been released pretty much everywhere in Queensland where dengue would be a concern.' Oxitec said in a statement that having other tools to control mosquitoes 'can only be a good thing for local authorities' given the Wolbachia approach hadn't fully eliminated dengue. Stott-Ross is researching more heat-tolerant strains of Wolbachia and how mosquitoes could spread under climate change.
The Age
11-06-2025
- Health
- The Age
The hidden menace on the rise in Australia's favourite winter holiday destinations
Of the 13,343 dengue cases reported in Australian between 2012 and 2022, 94 per cent were contracted overseas, mostly from Thailand and Indonesia, a Journal of Travel Medicine study found. One paper estimated six out of every 1000 travellers to high-risk areas catch dengue per month. Several variants are circulating at once, driving the current outbreaks. Climate change has also expanded mosquito habitats, accelerated breeding cycles and shortened the time the virus needs to replicate within its insect hosts, Dr Gregor Devine at the World Mosquito Program said. Warmer temperatures may have also weakened a key weapon dispatched against dengue-carrying mosquitoes across Asia and the Pacific, including Australia. When mosquitoes are infected with a type of bacteria called Wolbachia, their ability to transmit viruses is vastly reduced. Scientists have bred Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes into local populations around Cairns and Townsville, for example, and almost eradicated local cases of dengue. (A case reported in Cairns in May, however, marked the first locally acquired dengue infection since 2018). The World Mosquito Program rolled out the technique in two regions of Bali last year and expects it could prevent half a million dengue cases over 15 years. Similar programs are planned or underway in other badly hit countries including Kiribati and Timor-Leste. The bacteria, however, are sensitive to heat and start to die off within mosquito larva when temperatures surpass 30 degrees, mosquito expert Dr Perran Stott-Ross from the University of Melbourne said. That could contribute to more dengue cases as hot days and heat waves become more frequent. 'There's a pretty clear link between temperature and Wolbachia loss,' Stott-Ross said. 'We know when Cairns had its hottest day on record several years ago that the Wolbachia took a bit of a hit.' Loading There is another proposed dengue-busting proposal on the table, but Stott-Ross is cautious about the idea while the Wolbachia approach remains effective. UK company Oxitec and the CSIRO have applied to release genetically modified male mosquitoes in Queensland to slash populations of invasive, disease-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Oxitec's mosquitos pass on a DNA tweak which kills female larvae. But Stott-Ross is concerned that could undermine the Wolbachia method if there's a crash in mosquito numbers and then mosquitoes without the bacteria re-populate. 'I think it's a really useful technology. I just don't think there's a need for it in Australia at the moment,' he said. 'We've already got something which seems to be working quite well which is the Wolbachia, and it's already been released pretty much everywhere in Queensland where dengue would be a concern.' Oxitec said in a statement that having other tools to control mosquitoes 'can only be a good thing for local authorities' given the Wolbachia approach hadn't fully eliminated dengue. Stott-Ross is researching more heat-tolerant strains of Wolbachia and how mosquitoes could spread under climate change.
Scoop
09-06-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Increased Movement Of People Making Dengue Outbreaks More Common, Says Mosquito Expert
Greg Devine said mosquitos that carry the virus 'hitchhike around the world' and the increased movement of people is increasing those infected by dengue. Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific Journalist Dengue fever outbreaks have been surging in recent decades but new initiatives like infecting mosquitos with bacteria or genetic modification could dramatically slow the spread. According to the World Health Organization there was just over 500,0000 reported cases in 2000 – ballooning to 5.2 million in 2019. Last year, there were 14 million dengue cases – a record number dwarfing the previous 2023 high of 6.5 million. This year, there's been 2.5 million. Samoa, Fiji, Tonga and the Cook Islands have all declared dengue outbreaks. Samoa, Fiji and Tonga have each had at least one death from the viral infection. Greg Devine from the World Mosquito Program said increased globalisation is making outbreaks more common. Devine said mosquitos that carry the virus 'hitchhike around the world' and the increased movement of people is increasing those infected by dengue. Devine said a lot of people also don't have immunity. 'They don't have any protection against it because they've never been exposed to it before,' he said. 'Dengue comes in four different serotypes, so just because you've had one doesn't mean you can't get another.' He said climate change was having an increasing impact. 'We are hotter and wetter than we've ever been before and that's great for mosquitoes. It also means that the virus in mosquitoes is replicating more rapidly.' The aedes aegypti mosquito – which carries dengue – is considered a tropical or subtropical mosquito, but Devine said warmer weather would also increase the mosquitoes' range of where it inhabits. In the Pacific, health ministries are trying to stamp out mosquito breeding grounds and are spraying insecticides outside. But Devine said doing so has had limited success in reducing the spread. He said the aedes aegypti mosquito is 'completely reliant upon humans for its blood meals' which meant it liked to stay indoors, not outdoors where the majority of the spraying happens. 'Outdoor use of insecticides, it's perhaps better than nothing and the truth is that the community wants to see something happening. 'That's a very visible intervention but the reality is, there's a very limited evidence base for its impact.' Mosquitoes continually exposed to insecticides would also evolve resistance, Devine said. The World Mosquito Programme infects mosquitos with a naturally occurring bacteria called Wolbachia, which stops viruses like dengue growing in the mosquitoes' bodies. 'It's been trialled in New Caledonia, where it's been extremely successful,' Devine said. 'In the years since, the mosquito releases have been made by the World Mosquito Program, there's been no dengue epidemics where once they were extremely common.' He said genetically modified mosquitoes were also being looked at as a solution. 'That's a different kind of strategy, where you release large numbers of mosquitoes which have been modified in a way which means when those males interact with the local mosquito female population, the resulting offspring are not viable, and so that can crash the entire population.' When asked if that could collapse the entire aedes aegypti mosquito population, Devine said he wouldn't be 'particularly worried about decimating numbers'. 'People often refer to it as the kind of cockroach of the mosquito world. 'It's very, very closely adapted to the human population in most parts of its range. The species evolved in Africa and has since, spread throughout the world. It's not a particularly important mosquito for many ecosystems.'
Scoop
09-06-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Increased Movement Of People Making Dengue Outbreaks More Common, Says Mosquito Expert
Greg Devine said mosquitos that carry the virus 'hitchhike around the world' and the increased movement of people is increasing those infected by dengue. Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific Journalist Dengue fever outbreaks have been surging in recent decades but new initiatives like infecting mosquitos with bacteria or genetic modification could dramatically slow the spread. According to the World Health Organization there was just over 500,0000 reported cases in 2000 – ballooning to 5.2 million in 2019. Last year, there were 14 million dengue cases – a record number dwarfing the previous 2023 high of 6.5 million. This year, there's been 2.5 million. Samoa, Fiji, Tonga and the Cook Islands have all declared dengue outbreaks. Samoa, Fiji and Tonga have each had at least one death from the viral infection. Greg Devine from the World Mosquito Program said increased globalisation is making outbreaks more common. Devine said mosquitos that carry the virus 'hitchhike around the world' and the increased movement of people is increasing those infected by dengue. Devine said a lot of people also don't have immunity. 'They don't have any protection against it because they've never been exposed to it before,' he said. 'Dengue comes in four different serotypes, so just because you've had one doesn't mean you can't get another.' He said climate change was having an increasing impact. 'We are hotter and wetter than we've ever been before and that's great for mosquitoes. It also means that the virus in mosquitoes is replicating more rapidly.' The aedes aegypti mosquito – which carries dengue – is considered a tropical or subtropical mosquito, but Devine said warmer weather would also increase the mosquitoes' range of where it inhabits. In the Pacific, health ministries are trying to stamp out mosquito breeding grounds and are spraying insecticides outside. But Devine said doing so has had limited success in reducing the spread. He said the aedes aegypti mosquito is 'completely reliant upon humans for its blood meals' which meant it liked to stay indoors, not outdoors where the majority of the spraying happens. 'Outdoor use of insecticides, it's perhaps better than nothing and the truth is that the community wants to see something happening. 'That's a very visible intervention but the reality is, there's a very limited evidence base for its impact.' Mosquitoes continually exposed to insecticides would also evolve resistance, Devine said. The World Mosquito Programme infects mosquitos with a naturally occurring bacteria called Wolbachia, which stops viruses like dengue growing in the mosquitoes' bodies. 'It's been trialled in New Caledonia, where it's been extremely successful,' Devine said. 'In the years since, the mosquito releases have been made by the World Mosquito Program, there's been no dengue epidemics where once they were extremely common.' He said genetically modified mosquitoes were also being looked at as a solution. 'That's a different kind of strategy, where you release large numbers of mosquitoes which have been modified in a way which means when those males interact with the local mosquito female population, the resulting offspring are not viable, and so that can crash the entire population.' When asked if that could collapse the entire aedes aegypti mosquito population, Devine said he wouldn't be 'particularly worried about decimating numbers'. 'People often refer to it as the kind of cockroach of the mosquito world. 'It's very, very closely adapted to the human population in most parts of its range. The species evolved in Africa and has since, spread throughout the world. It's not a particularly important mosquito for many ecosystems.'
