In Punjab, more than 2.3 million tilapia fish were released into ponds and lakes in different districts to help fight dengue. These fish eat mosquitoes and have been bred to kill them. The number of people with dengue fever in the province has gone up to 1,388. This is what the office of the Islamabad District Home Officer said in a statement.
Along with the health department, the Punjab fisheries department works hard to keep dengue from spreading. This year, they have bred 2.3 million tilapia fish to eat dengue larvae.
Experts in fisheries say that tilapia is a small fish that was seen as a sign of rebirth in ancient Egypt. Scientists are currently working on ways to use this fish to fight mosquitoes that spread diseases like dengue and malaria.
The Director-General of Punjab Fisheries, Dr. Sikandar Hayat, talked to The Express Tribune about the three ways to stop dengue.
He said that the mechanical management method requires getting rid of collected water because dengue mosquitoes lay their eggs in water. For example, the water in the bowls for birds is dumped out, and water found in air conditioners or tires in homes is thrown away.
The fee for the Dengue test has been set at Rs 1,500. In the chemical management method, chemicals are used to kill the larvae of the dengue mosquito. “This method is used in ponds where all of the water can’t be thrown away,” Dr. Hayat said.
The third way to stop the spread of dengue is to release tilapia fish into the water. This is an organic method. Dr. Hayat said that it is mostly used in water storage tanks where the water is used for drinking.
He said that his staff checks the pH (acidity or bitterness) of the water, figures out how likely it is to work, and then lets the tilapia and grass carp fish eat the dengue larvae. The director-general also said that dengue-killing fish are being put into ponds and lakes in several districts of Punjab right now.
Tilapia is also known to be more expensive and more delicious to eat than other types of fish.
