There is growing awareness on the effects of insecticides used for controlling the vectors spreading human diseases. Manipulating or introducing of a self reproducing predator into the ecosystem may present continual biological control of vector populations. In order to achieve an acceptable control of the primary Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus) and secondary Aedes albopictus (Skuse) mosquitoes (Dipte...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES An efficient larvivorous fish must show a predilection for mosquito larvae in the presence of alternative preys. This study compares the feeding capacity and preference of Aphyosemion gularis exposed to different kinds of aquatic macroinvertebrates. METHODS Various prey organisms such as Anopheles larvae and pupae, Culex larvae, chironomid larvae and ostracods were eit...

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is a disease caused by an arbovirus that is spread by marsh birds, amplified by pigs, and mainly transmitted by the bite of infected Culex tritaeniorhynchus mosquitoes. The estimated annual incidence and mortality rates are 30,000--50,000 and 10,000, respectively, and the estimated global burden of JE in 2002 was 709,000 disability-adjusted life years lost. Here, we d...

Because of problems with insecticide resistance, alternative malaria control methods were necessary. These include the use biological agents, such as larvivorous fish. This study aimed to compare larval eating capacity two indigenous fishes in vector laboratory conditions Dogbo district south-western Benin. Larvae Anopheles gambiae sensu lato mosquitoes collected from breeding sites using dippi...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES Certain indigenous fish can play potential role in vector control. The study recorded distribution of Aphanius dispar (Rüppell) in its native habitats in Gujarat, India and evaluated its larval propensity for Indian mosquito vectors. METHODS Fishes were surveyed in various districts of Gujarat and samples were collected from coastal habitats and were identified to spec...

The call for malaria control, over the last century, marked a new epoch in the history of this disease. Many control strategies targeting either the Plasmodium parasite or the Anopheles vector were shown to be effective. Yet, the emergence of drug resistant parasites and insecticide resistant mosquito strains, along with numerous health, environmental, and ecological side effects of many chemic...

The copepod Mesocyclops aspericornis Daday and the larvivorous fishes Gambusia affinis (B. & G.) and Poecilia reticulata R. & B., were released into mosquito breeding sites in Tuherahera village, Tikehau atoll, French Polynesia, to control larvae of Aedes aegypti (L.), Ae.polynesiensis Marks, Culex annulirostris Skuse and Cx quinquefasciatus Say. Treatments were completed within a week, in Janu...

A community-based study of the distribution of larvivorous fish, Poecilia reticulata (common name: guppy), in water storage containers for dengue control was undertaken in 14 villages and approximately 1,000 households in Cambodia. Community volunteers reared guppies and distributed them in water jars and tanks in households for which they were responsible. A nearby control area received no int...