Dengue has been growing in various states in India. In some states, the surge is quite alarming.
In order to check the dengue spread, the health department of the state has released Gambusia fish to check the spread of dengue and viral fever.
Gambusia fish is known to eat larvae of dengue breeding mosquitoes and this is how it checks the spread of dengue.
The famous gambusia species, known as gambusia species is basically employed in several countries to check the transmission of mosquito borne diseases.
It’s also known as the biological way or bio-control measure that works against the vector-borne diseases.
Gambusia Fish Released to Check the Spread of Dengue In Moga (Punjab)
This is what a Senior Medical Officer (SMO) Dr Sukhpreet Singh Brar stated, “The district health officials have started releasing gambusia fish in ponds of the urban as well as rural areas in the district,” he said.
He continued, “So far, gambusia fish has been released in 312 ponds. In rest of the 176 ponds, the fish will be released by the end of this month. There are a total of 488 ponds in the district.”
The health officials said, “The use of gambusia against dengue mosquito breeding is a technique that has rarely been used in the district. The fish is not more than 7 cm in length and 1 cm in breadth. Gambusia is a freshwater fish, which humans do not mostly consume. The fish is omnivorous. It can breed at a faster pace than an invasive species. The fish particularly feeds on mosquito larvae and is not harmful to humans.”
Experiments conducted in this regard have revealed that a gambusia fish can eat at least 100 larvae on a daily basis. This can actually helps to control the breeding of mosquitoes.
The above measure has also been found quite effective against malaria.
As per the official figures, the health department has already taken over 500 blood samples and out of which 51 were found dengue positive. One person is also reported to have died recently.
The health department is trying hard to get the situation under control. The SMO in the official statement stated that malaria and dengue can be easily prevented using appropriate measures.
Also Read: Dengue Cases On The Rise, Here’s What You Should Do
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