Article: Nature: How some viruses make people smell extra-tasty to mosquitoes

[Andy]

"The viruses that cause the tropical diseases Zika and dengue fever can hijack the body odour of their hosts to their advantage, a study shows1. Both viruses alter how mice smell to make the animals more appetizing to hungry mosquitoes.

This tactic could help the viruses to catch a ride to fresh targets, says co-author Gong Cheng, a microbiologist at Tsinghua University in Beijing. Techniques for interrupting this smelly takeover could help to control not only Zika and dengue, but also other mosquito-borne diseases, he says. The research was published on 30 June in Cell."

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01764-2

 

[Hutan]

Bacteria that produce acetophenone grow naturally on the skin, but their numbers are usually kept in check by an antimicrobial protein that is secreted by skin cells. However, the team’s studies revealed that the gene responsible for making this protein was less active when mice had dengue or Zika.

The evolved relationships between host and pathogen are amazing.

Together, this information suggests that dengue and Zika viruses have weaponized acetophenone to help themselves spread. However, the researchers also found that giving infected mice vitamin A, which is commonly used to treat skin conditions, helped to lower the amount of acetophenone the animals exuded, potentially providing a new way to control the spread of both diseases.