Saturday, August 11, 2007

Nile Tilapia Reduce Malaria Vectors by Over 94 Percent

By stocking abandoned fish ponds in western Kenya with Nile tilapia fish (Oreochromis niloticus) the Anopheles mosquito larvae (main carriers of malaria) in those ponds were reduced by upwards of 94%. In addition to the reduced mosquito population, these fish provide an important protein source for the endemic people.

Though malaria is not a widespread threat in the United States, there are some of us who nevertheless are not fond of mosquito bites. One way of reducing mosquito larvae would be to stock ponds with minnows such as Gambusia. If interested, you should be able to check your computer search engine to locate a stock near you.

The reference for the article on the Kenyan fish ponds stocked with tilapia fish can be found after August 8, 2007 in BMC Public Health, an online public access journal.

A fuller summary of the article can be found at .

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