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              Malaria-Infected Mosquitoes More Attracted to Humans

   Mosquitoes infected with the malaria parasite are significantly more
   attracted to human odors than uninfected mosquitoes.
   Researchers already knew that the microscopic parasite -- Plasmodium
   falciparum -- can alter the behavior of the mosquitoes it infects,
   causing them to consume larger and more frequent blood meals. That
   increases the rate of malaria transmission.
   But now James Logan and colleagues at the London School of Hygiene and
   Tropical Medicine have identified another behavioral change. Using
   fabric permeated with human odor, they found that "malaria-infectious
   females are more attracted to human odors than uninfected mosquitoes."
   They landed on and probed the fabric about three times more frequently
   than the females that did not carry the parasite. Only female
   mosquitoes bite.
   That finding, reported in the journal PLOS-One, casts doubt on the
   reliability of earlier malaria transmission studies which typically
   have used uninfected mosquitoes.
   The new study suggests those earlier results may not always be
   representative of the behavior of infected insects. Logan and his
   colleagues conclude that understanding the olfactory changes behind the
   enhanced attraction to humans may help identify new weapons in the
   fight against this dangerous disease.
   Each year, malaria infects more than 200 million people worldwide, and
   claims an estimated 660,000 lives.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/malariainfected-mosquitoes-more-attra
   cted-to-humans/1662986.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/malariainfected-mosquitoes-more-attracted-to-humans/1662986.html