The Washington PostThe Washington Post

Are you a mosquito magnet? It’s because of how you smell.

By Teddy Amenabar

18 Oct 2022 · 4 min read

Editor's Note

Yearly, when the summer months descend there is always one friend who ends up with far more mosquito bites than everyone else. Have you ever wondered why? A recent study answers exactly this question.

Some people are magnets for mosquitoes, emitting a tantalizing combination of chemicals that invite the pesky insects to dine on them.

Researchers at Rockefeller University in New York found people who have higher levels of certain acids on their skin are 100 times more attractive to the female Aedes aegypti, the type of mosquito responsible for spreading diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika.

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