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Can vitamin B12 prevent mosquito-transmitted diseases?From Peter Bartok, Houston, Texas
"Malaria is a major problem in the world. As a geologist I have done significant field work in malaria infested regions. Before doing work in Bolivia (several years ago) a doctor told me to take 1000 units of B12 three times a day. B12 exudes a mosquito repellent smell. During the six weeks I was there I was not bitten by mosquitoes. Can B12 prevent mosquito transmitted diseases? Thanks for being available." Answer
Since mosquitoes are perhaps the most insidious disease-spreaders around, your question is important. Mosquitoes transmit parasites that cause malaria, a disease that kills between 1 million and 3 million people a year worldwide. Before I answer your question, Peter, I would like to clarify one point. You asked whether vitamin B12 can prevent mosquito-transmitted diseases. What I think you are asking is whether B12 can repel mosquitoes and thus prevent transmission of the disease. This is an important distinction because, as you are probably aware, many mosquito-transmitted diseases like malaria and West Nile Virus are not necessarily preventable. The best we can hope for is stemming the number of people stung by these infected mosquitoes. Now, to answer your question, the notion that ingesting certain products like B vitamins (or garlic, for that matter) might repel mosquitoes is common, but unfounded. Based on scientific studies I was able to dig up, B vitamins are not effective mosquito repellants, and vitamin B12, specifically, is not well-studied. What scientists know more about is another B vitamin - B1 - also known as thiamine. As part of a larger survey of effective mosquito repellants, a 2002 study in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that, "No ingested compound, including garlic and thiamine (vitamin B1), has been found to be capable of repelling biting arthropods." The same study concluded that DEET-containing products offer the best protection. In addition to DEET, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends another product, Picaridin, and products containing oil of lemon eucalyptus. The CDC also recommends wearing long sleeves and pants while outdoors, and applying a repellent on your clothing.
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Damn mosquitos, thank god for bug repellent! or vitamin B12 in ur case...
My sister is adopted. She and her son attract mosquitoes for some reason. The family joke is that the only reason we invite them to out door events is to keep the mosquitoes away from us. I on the other hand am rarely the target of a mosquito. Has there been a study of the chemical differences between groups of people like myself and my sister? What is attracting the mosquito to my sister. My guess would be a chemical "scent" or sensing how close the blood is to the surface of the skin.
Good question. I can be outside in a group of 30 people, and I'm the one swatting like a madman. I have no idea why mosquitoes like me so much; my family used to say "They know a good thing when they see it". Grrr.
Either way, I still have to get my monthly B-12 shot. Oral ingestion is out of the question for me because my digestive system does not absorb the vitamin. So shots it is... for the rest of my life.
RAJ – I'm thinking it is something along the lines of mosquitoes are attracted more to those whose blood vessels are closest to the surface.
Stacie, my background is in medicinal chemistry. Here's a little tid bit for you to try if you hate the shots. The part of the gut that absorbs the B12 is very short and malabsorption is common, but overall absorption is somewhat concentration dependant. Since that's the case, try a daily dose of sublingual Vit B12 at a 5000mcg (5 thousand – not hundred) dose. This should get your B12 levels as high or higher than monthly B12 shots and is usually lots cheaper.
I had given myself B12 shots for over 20 years and recently started taking liquid B vitamins sublingually and seem to be doing ok. Both my B12 levels and my iron are fine.
NPR had a story today about mosquitoes. They agreed that none of the folk remedies work, and that some people attract mosquitoes more than others. Up north, I used to be able to feel mosquitoes land or bite. But the Tiger mosquitoes they have down here bite with no sensation. And while they don't make me itch much, I'd rather avoid west nile...
We live on a lake in Atlanta, and the mosquitoes are so thick down here we avoid going out. That, and the heat...
Have been using B123 complex vitamins and brewers yeast tablets since the mid 70s – works on humans and dogs as well. Have made it thru some bad tick years as well as mosquito years. Just a hiint – it doesn't work immediatley – takes about a week for it to start working – was told "back in the day" by some country folk that it puts a nasty taste on your skin – I don't care about that, or the chemsitry end – IT WORKS!!!!!!!!
I made a comment about this post that was courteous and professional. I disagreed with you but that doesn't seem a reason to censor me. Why was it removed??
Vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms are manifest not because people are taking less vitamin B12 than recommended. Deficiency of vitamin B12 affects every cell in the body, but is most severely felt in the tissues where the cells normally divide rapidly, as in the blood-forming -tissues of the bone marrow and in the gastro-intestinal tract. The deficiency can also lead to neurological changes such as numbness and tingling in the hands and feet. It also include mood disorders, anxiety, insomnia, restlessness, night terror etc.
Reference:
http://www.b12deficiency.org/fundamental-information-about-b12-deficiency/
My girl friend and I have tickets to go to The British Virgin Islands.
She has now done some research and tells me that there is a dangerous outbreak of Dengue Fever in the Virgin Islands. Should we cancel our trip?