Did you know that some viruses, such as Zika or Dengue, have the ability to alter the skin microbiota of their hosts, in order to more effectively attract mosquitoes, their vectors?
Recent studies have shown that when one of these viruses infects a host, it causes a change in the microorganisms on the skin that generate volatile substances, altering their composition and quantity so that they are more attractive to mosquitoes than those generated by the skin of uninfected hosts.
In this subtle way, viruses improve their ability to transmit from one host to another. This is thanks to the vector action of mosquitoes, which, by being more efficiently attracted to infected individuals, acquire the virus and can then transmit it to other healthy mosquitoes, thus increasing the virulence of the disease.
The target of this alteration are some bacteria of the genus Bacillus, which are found in the epidermis and which produce acetophenone, a substance that is highly attractive to mosquitoes. Individuals infected with the virus promote greater proliferation of acetophenone-producing skin bacteria.
This alteration has been verified in both animals and humans. Some mosquitoes can also transmit viruses that can cause diseases in dogs, such as Leishmaniasis.
Genome Laboratory It can determine any type of virus affecting your pets and thus help better control the disease.
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