Kenyan researchers have hailed a humble fish as the latest weapon in the battle to curb the spread of malaria, reports BBC online Wednesday.
Nile tilapia, a fish more usually seen on Kenyan dinner tables, was introduced to several abandoned fishponds in the west of the East African country. By consuming mosquito larvae it managed to reduce numbers of two of the main malarial mosquitoes by more than 94%.
The BMC Public Health study noted the fish could prove critical as mosquitoes are becoming resistant to pesticides.
Nile tilapias taste for mosquitoes has been known since 1917 but this is the first time field data has been published detailing their use in mosquito control, the researchers from the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology said.
