An entomologist from the University of Melbourne lets thousands of mosquitoes bite his arm regularly in order to keep them fed for research on eradicating Dengue fever.
Dr. Perran Stott-Ross has been involved in research at the University of Melbourne for many years now. The research is trying to find effective ways of curbing the spread of the Dengue virus, passes between humans via mosquitoes.
Picture: Perran Ross
The Australian scientist first drew attention back in March, when he tweeted a photo of his blister-covered arm after reportedly was feeding a record 5,000 female mosquitoes. He admits that the bites can be painful sometimes and that he always has to abstain from scratching after blood-feeding sessions.
Ross said, “Sometimes it can sting a little bit if they get you in the right spot, but mostly it’s just slight irritation,”.
“It’s absolutely itchy later. As soon as I take my arm out, I have to resist the urge to scratch,” he added.
Based on photos and videos that Perran Stott-Ross has shared on his Twitter account, he seems like has developed an immunity to the pain and irritation associated with mosquito bites.
One day later, and my arm is nearly back to normal pic.twitter.com/OHSQzKSnwP
— Perran Ross (@MosWhisperer) December 13, 2017
The scientist captioned one of his most shared photo: “Record day of mosquito blood-feeding today. ~5000 female mosquitoes fed and 16 mL of blood lost,”.
Record day of mosquito blood feeding today. ~5000 female mosquitoes fed and 16 mL of blood lost. pic.twitter.com/7OzeQ9rGl7
— Perran Ross (@MosWhisperer) May 7, 2020
Source: LAD Bible, Oddity Central, Perran Ross
