Leave Animals, Research Reveals Mosquitoes Prefer to Suck Human Blood

Illustration of a mosquito (Photo: Freepik/jcomp)

JAKARTA - A recent scientific study reveals a worrying fact, namely that mosquitoes are proven to prefer human blood over animal blood. This finding is not just about mosquito comfort, but is closely related to environmental changes due to human activities.

Research conducted in the Atlantic Forest region, Brazil, showed that declining biodiversity encourages mosquitoes to bite humans more often. When natural habitats are damaged and the number of animals is reduced, mosquitoes lose their natural blood source and eventually make humans their main target.

"In this study, we found that mosquito species living in the remnants of the Atlantic Forest have a clear preference for sucking human blood," said Jeronimo Alencar, a biologist from the Oswaldo Cruz Institute, quoted from the Science Alert page.

A team of researchers from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and the Oswaldo Cruz Institute captured more than 1,700 mosquitoes from 52 different species using light traps in two nature reserves. Of these, the female mosquitoes that contained blood were further analyzed to find out the source of the blood.

The results are quite striking. From the samples that were successfully identified, the human blood traces were found the most, coming from 18 different individuals. Meanwhile, bird blood was only detected from six individuals, and the blood of amphibians, rodents, and wild dogs were each found only once.

According to the researchers, the high dependence of mosquitoes on human blood does not happen just like that. The main factor that triggers it is deforestation and increased human activity in natural areas.

"With fewer natural options, mosquitoes are forced to find alternative blood sources. They end up sucking human blood more often because we are the easiest and most dominant hosts in the region," explained Sergio Machado, a microbiologist from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

This condition poses a serious risk to public health. Mosquitoes are known to carry various dangerous diseases such as dengue fever, malaria, and Zika. If mosquitoes bite humans more often, the potential for disease transmission also increases.

The researchers emphasized that understanding the eating habits of mosquitoes is essential for designing more effective disease prevention strategies. They also suggested further research with more diverse mosquito capture methods so that the results are more accurate.

This study is a reminder that environmental damage not only impacts nature, but also directly affects human health.