Mosquitos carrying malaria are attracted to sweaty feet, according to doctoral student Remco Suer of Wageningen University.
The Volkskrant says malaria mosquitos detect humans by the carbon dioxide they exhale from dozens of metres away. However, the smell given off by bacteria causing sweaty feet takes over as the mosquito nears its target.
Suer says the finding shows why mosquitos tend to bite feet and ankles rather than faces and could provide a clue to changing their behaviour.
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