The mosquitoes they are downright chemists. Your saliva contains compounds anestheticswhich prevent us from noticing while being bitten, and also anticoagulants that allow the blood they steal from us to flow faster. All this generates a allergic response, responsible for itching and the appearance of hives. That in the best case. Yes too transmit diseases, the sting may be much more expensive. Also, as if that weren’t enough, a team of scientists has discovered that some disease-carrying mosquitoes, such as dengue or Zikaadd to the anesthetic and anticoagulant a substance capable of slow down the response of our immune system. Thus, infection can occur much more easily.
This has been studied in mosquitoes that transmit the dengue virus. However, the same compound had previously been observed in transmitters of other diseases, such as Zika and yellow fever.
The finding is bad news, because it shows what these mosquitoes are capable of. But also a good one, since it supposes one more target on which to attack them. If the effect of that substance is blocked, the immune system would have a free field to act against the viruses they transmit. Unfortunately, there is still time for that to be possible, but this finding is a good start.
The trick of dengue-transmitting mosquitoes
There is no treatment for denguebeyond alleviate some symptoms. It usually heals on its own; but, unfortunately, in the most serious cases it can occur internal bleeding that lead to death.
Therefore, it is vital get to know the virus in depth and try to find targets that allow to finish him off. Logically, the main target is in the mosquitoes that transmit it, therefore, rather than cure, it is worth preventing, taking measures to avoid bites. But, since this is not always possible, it is also interesting to know the mechanisms of these insects.
That is what led the authors of the study just published to analyze your saliva. They expected to find the typical substances of mosquitoes, but they also found a molecule, called sfRNA, which curiously had already been observed in other disease-transmitting mosquitoes, such as Zika. They decided to focus their study on this molecule and thus saw that it has the ability to suppress the immune system.
Basically, it is capable of block the action of the first molecules that come to the site of infection as a defense mechanism. That leaves the virus free to spread through the body.
And now that?
Following this finding, the authors of the research, from the University of Virginia, intend to continue studying the mechanisms of this RNA to combat the immune system. It would be an ideal target to combat both dengue and other flaviviruses transmitted by mosquitoes.
But there is still time for that to happen. For this reason, for now, the key remains in avoid bites. For this, you should avoid places with stagnant water, use mosquito nets on the windows and wear light clothing, but that covers as much of your skin as possible. Mosquito repellents are also a good option. But, better than repelling the mosquito, it is clear that the key would be to repel the virus. The insect is a simple messenger that does not know the damage it does. In the future, perhaps that will be possible.