Tarumitra founder-director Father Robert Athickal at the event on the premises of AN College on Monday. Picture by Ashok Sinha

Patna, March 14: Daag achchhe hain (spots are good), says a detergent promotional. But are mosquito bites good too? Yes it is, said a speaker at a bio-diversity meet in the city today.

Wonder how? Father Robert Athickal, the founder and director of Tarumitra, says mosquito bites can help fight malaria.

Athickal addressed the postgraduate students of environmental science of AN College as part of a two-day awareness programme on bio-diversity conservation under the National Environment Awareness Campaign of the Union ministry of environment and forests.

The programme was organised by the postgraduate environmental science department of AN College along with the chemistry department and the National Service Scheme unit of the college.

Athickal said: “Bio-diversity experts admit that mosquitoes help the human body fight diseases. According to international bio-diversity expert Norman Myers, once a mosquito bites a person, it leaves behind parasite in the body. With time, the body is able to grow antibodies that fight the parasite, making the person healthier. In the process, the body is habituated to withstand the parasites.”

However, city doctors beg to differ. Rajeshwar Hospital deputy director Abhijeet said: “I don’t think it is possible mosquito bites can vaccinate body against diseases. The diseases can always strike again.”

Athickal intends to boost eco-spirituality among the masses. He said: “We always make it a point to avoid mosquito bites and purposely kill them. There is a reason that there are so many organisms in the lap of nature. We need to understand that we are responsible for the depletion of bio-diversity and if it continues, the existence of future generations will be doubtful.”

Principal of AN College Haridwar Singh said: “Declining bio-diversity means a weakened ecosystem and a consequent threat to the survival of all life forms on earth. It is our ethical responsibility not to deprive future generations of the benefits of bio-diversity, both economic and aesthetic.”

Athickal added malarial parasite never leaves the body. “It has been found that in 90 per cent of the cases, people once affected by malaria do not contract the disease again. Experts say once the body is habituated to fight the parasite, contracting the disease is difficult unless a person leads an unhealthy life,” he added.