Why does he eat you so much when a mosquito bites you

When a mosquito stings you, it not only serves up your blood, but gives you something in return, a quantity of saliva. And it contains a protein cocktail that people are allergic to. That’s where that unbearable itching comes from.

And a recent study showed that this itching can last a week. As long as our body remains alert, fighting toxic proteins, after a simple sting.

The research was conducted by scientists at Baylor Medical College in Texas on mice, which were injected with human stem cells, and end up having an immune system similar to ours. Live Science, citing a report published by PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

Then, the guinea pigs were exposed to mosquitoes, each being stung, on average, four times.

Subsequent tests showed that their immune systems remained active for seven days after the mosquito attack. An extremely long period, which scientists did not expect, as explained by the author of the study, Rebecca Rico-Hesse, professor of virology at the institution.

The research is to be resumed, this time using mosquitoes infected with Zika or dengue fever.

Read on Are you a mosquito magnet? That says something about you, But and Who do mosquitoes prefer?

A.P.

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