Mosquitoes are the bane of summer holidays with their bites causing misery day and night.
But, imagine being stung daily – and by choice.
That’s what Perran Ross does in the name of science.
The 34-year-old scientist began working with the blood sucking creatures over a decade ago.
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And, even though bites are renowned for being uncomfortable and non-stop itchy, he says it’s perfectly safe.
“Almost everyone thinks I am joking when I tell them what we do,” Perran, a research fellow at the University of Melbourne, told Need To Know.
“I got into this area because of the real-world impacts this work has.
“In short, our research focuses on using natural bacteria called Wolbachia to reduce dengue transmission by mosquitoes.
“This works by releasing mosquitoes carrying the bacterium into the wild, where it spreads into the local mosquito population.
“Mosquitoes that carry Wolbachia are much less capable of spreading viruses.
“It is basically a vaccine for mosquitoes.
“This approach has been incredibly successful, with huge reductions in dengue cases in many Locations where Wolbachia mosquitoes have been released.”
And even though it’s a completely voluntary requirement to be stung by the insects – Perran says he loves it.
“To perform our research with mosquitoes we need to be able to maintain them across many generations in the laboratory.
“Many mosquito species need blood to lay eggs, and the best way to do this is by using a live host
“Blood feeding on human volunteers is safe.
“The mosquitoes we work with do not carry any diseases and we take several steps to mitigate potential risks,
“And it has been approved by an ethics committee.
“I should also emphasise that it’s completely voluntary – it is not a required part of my job.
“The first time I volunteered to feed the mosquitoes I had a very strong urge to shake them off.
“It took a bit of willpower to keep my arm still.
“There is a small amount of discomfort but I barely notice them feeding at all these days.
“The itchiness afterwards is probably the most uncomfortable part.
“The first time I did it my arm was itchy for more than a week but now the bites go away in a day or two.”
Not everyone is convinced by Perran’s unique research methods though.
However, he says that his efforts are met by respect from intrigued individuals.
He said: “Almost everyone thinks I am joking when I tell them what we do.
“When they realise I’m serious there is a wide variety of reactions from disgust to enthusiasm.
“And many people have asked if they can volunteer.
“Since I have now been volunteering for over 10 years, I have probably lost well over five litres of blood over that time (enough to kill me if it happened all at once)
“I guess there is some level of respect for the ‘sacrifice’ that I make.”
Perran even dished the dirt on some common mosquito myths including just why they are picky eaters.
He said: “Each female mosquito (only the females bite) drinks only a few microlitres of blood each.
“In our research we keep about 250 female mosquitoes in each population, and often we have 10-20 populations at a given time.
“This means that we can feed up to 3000 mosquitoes on a given day (~10mL).
“The most common question we get about mosquitoes is why they prefer some people over others.
“This is now something we are researching ourselves.
“Reactions to mosquito bites vary a lot – some people have no reaction and don’t get itchy while others get large welts that itch for a long time.”
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