There were several ways to protect against being bitten by the Asian tiger, the species behind the increased incidence of mosquito bites this summer, the Health Department said.

However, the reason why some people are bitten more than others remains uncertain, according to Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Unit head Tanya Melillo.

“The most likely cause is that the mosquito is more attracted to one person than another due to our natural body smell, which the mosquito picks up,” Dr Melillo said.

She added that the female mosquito, the one that bites, has receptors which respond to some of the chemicals found in human sweat.

Their bites last for a week and cause increased itching. As a form of protection, the Health Department has advised wearing socks, shoes, long trousers and a long sleeved shirt when outdoors for long periods of time.

Asian tiger mosquitoes, contrary to normal mosquitoes which are most active at dawn and dusk, are out and about during the daytime.

The department advised people to make sure door and window screens fit tightly and to use mosquito netting when sleeping outdoors.

Fans were also helpful, it said, as mosquitoes were weak fliers and a strong wind produced by a fan not only kept them from flying but diffused chemical cues that mosquitoes used to locate blood meals.

The mosquito, which migrated through the transport of goods and international travel from southeast Asia, caused an increase in patients going to doctors with mosquito bites this summer. The increased itching led many people to visit the doctor with an infection requiring antibiotics because their scratching infected the bite.

The department is trying to map out the mosquito’s distribution and is accepting mosquito samples at its office in Msida during weekdays, where they can be verified by an entomologist. The areas they are mainly interested in are Fgura, Paola, Żabbar, Żejtun, Żurrieq, Safi, Qrendi, Gudja, Mġarr, Dingli, Rabat, Siġġiewi and Gozo.