What is the significance of host preference in predicting transmission risk?

• A. All mosquitoes feed on humans the same rate.
• B. Mosquitoes with strong anthropophily increase human-mosquito contact and transmission.
• C. Zoophilic species pose higher human risk than anthropophilic.
• D. Host preference only matters for indoor resting, not transmission.

Answer: (B)

Host preference determines how often a mosquito bites humans. When a species is strongly anthropophilic, its feeding on people is high, increasing the human biting rate and raising the chances that pathogens ingested in one bite are transmitted via subsequent bites. This elevates vectorial capacity and overall transmission risk. If a species is zoophilic, it mainly feeds on animals, so human contact is reduced and transmission risk to people falls. The belief that all mosquitoes bite humans at the same rate ignores variation in host preference, while the claim that zoophilic species pose higher human risk contradicts the effect of host choice, and the idea that host preference only matters for indoor resting misses the direct impact of feeding behavior on transmission regardless of resting location.