# @floridainternational on YouTube

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://youtube.com/watch?v=_gAKscMhzxU
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/69021922-floridainternational-youtube
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/20cc84fe74.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-08-08T15:58:01.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** floridainternational (@floridainternational) — https://gondola.cc/floridainternational

## Caption

Every mosquito has a type — and you may not be it.

Why do mosquitoes seem to love some people while ignoring others? New research from Florida International University (FIU) shows there may be no such thing as a universal “mosquito magnet.”

Dr. Matthew DeGennaro, director of FIU’s Biomolecular Sciences Institute and associate professor of biological sciences, explains research involving 119 people and three mosquito species: Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus. Researchers found that different mosquito species are attracted to different people based largely on skin bacteria, body odor and an individual’s unique chemical signature.

The differences were striking. There was very little overlap among the people each mosquito species found highly attractive, and no participant was highly attractive—or minimally attractive—to all three species. In other words, mosquitoes really do have different preferences.

Understanding how mosquitoes find people could also help researchers develop better ways to prevent mosquito-borne diseases. DeGennaro explains that mosquitoes can pick up a pathogen while feeding on an infected human or animal and transmit it when they later bite another person.

The research is especially relevant in South Florida, where Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus are among the mosquitoes people encounter. DeGennaro also cautions against becoming complacent about diseases such as dengue, Zika and West Nile virus, noting recent local dengue transmission in Florida.

Could understanding your skin microbiome eventually lead to longer-lasting mosquito repellents? FIU researchers are working to understand exactly what makes mosquitoes choose one person over another—and how that knowledge could help protect communities from mosquito-borne disease.

Learn more about mosquito attraction, mosquito bites, skin bacteria, body odor, dengue, Zika, West Nile virus, and FIU mosquito research.

Read the full research findings published in iScience: https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042%2826%2902384-9?uuid=uuid%3Aa3ef45aa-5648-4b82-83e9-7b55bbb41c0b

#Mosquitoes #MosquitoResearch #FIU #Dengue #Zika #WestNile #SouthFlorida #MosquitoBites #Science #PublicHealth #SkinMicrobiome

## Stats

- **Views:** 48
- **Likes:** 2
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 0

## Tags

publichealth, dengue, science, mosquitoes, southflorida, skinmicrobiome, zika, mosquitobites, fiu, mosquitoresearch, westnile

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