Mosquitofish, generically known as Gambusia, eat larvae of dengue-breeding mosquitoes.
Battling a deadly outbreak of dengue and viral fever that has claimed 51 lives so far, the Firozabad district administration is releasing about 25,000 mosquitofish that eat larvae of dengue-breeding mosquitoes in ponds to check the spread of the disease, a senior district official said today.
District health officials have started releasing the fish, generically known as Gambusia, in ponds in urban as well as rural areas of the district, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dinesh Kumar Premi said.
He said 50 packets of fish seeds have been acquired from Badaun to start with.
Mr Premi said the district administration is going ahead with the experiment having seen its success earlier in Bareilly and Baduan districts.
He said that a Gambusia fish eats about 100 larvae daily. The measure will also be effective against malaria, he added.
Dengue and viral fever have killed 51 people in over a fortnight in the district in Uttar Pradesh. Hundreds of people are also undergoing treatment for the diseases.
District Magistrate Chandra Vijay Singh had recently directed health and municipal corporation officials to conduct a door-to-door survey to drain out stagnant water from coolers, pots and other utensils.
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