A fishy treatment for malaria

Pesticide resistance is an increasing problem for malarial control methods but new research has provided a unique solution - a fish.

Not your average malarial treatment

New research published in the online journal BMC Public Health shows how Nile tilapia, a fish more commonly served up to Kenyan diners, is a valuable weapon against malaria mosquitoes - with initial studies showing it can reduce mosquitoes by 94%.

Annabel Howard of the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology in Nairobi, Kenya said: “The fish were so effective in reducing immature mosquito populations that there is likely to be a noticeable effect on the adult mosquito population in the area.”

Howard, along with collaborator Francois Omlin, introduced Nile tilapia to abandoned fishponds in western Kenya. They then monitored pond life, comparing the restocked ponds with a control pond nearby.After 15 weeks the fish reduced both Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles funestus - the region’s primary malaria vectors - by over 94%.

Howard says the control method is sustainable, as the fish breed and provide a continuous population. The researchers say the findings present a win-win situation for Kenyans, who can use the fish to limit mosquito populations and gain food and income from them too. There are over 2000 pediatric malaria cases annually in the Kisii Central District where the authors carried out their research.

Nile tilapia’s predilection for mosquitoes has been known since 1917 - however this is the first field data published detailing this species’ use for mosquito control.