• Burmese
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
28 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Asia

Guppies Vs Dengue

Asia Sentinal by Asia Sentinal
September 13, 2013
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
Guppies Vs Dengue

A pair of “Metal Yellow Lace” guppies swim in a fish tank at a guppy farm in Singapore in 2009. (Photo: Reuters)

3.6k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The lowly guppy, unassuming inhabitant of many a child’s fishbowl, could become an unlikely combatant to slow the spread of dengue, an agonizing, mosquito-borne illness giving rise to hundreds of thousands of severe cases every year, including up to 20,000 deaths worldwide.

A trial study conducted by the governments of Cambodia and the Laos, supported by the Asian Development Bank, which provided a grant of US$1 million, and the World Health Organization resulted in a sharp decline in mosquito larva in water storage containers after the tiny fish were introduced into them.

The key was convincing communities to accept fish in their water containers, according to the ADB, with residents wary of the tiny fish swimming around in their water storage jars. But, according to the report, guppies don’t harm water quality and can survive on microscopic organic material in the absence of mosquito larvae. At the project close in Cambodia, 88 percent of the storage containers in the project contained guppies, with the figure at 76 percent in the Laos study.

RelatedPosts

Mekong River Body Detects Heavy Metal Contamination

Mekong River Body Detects Heavy Metal Contamination

July 7, 2025
654
Toxic Thailand Rivers Pinned on Myanmar Mines

Toxic Thailand Rivers Pinned on Myanmar Mines

June 11, 2025
786
From Smog to Arsenic: Myanmar’s Toxic Trail Reaches Thailand

From Smog to Arsenic: Myanmar’s Toxic Trail Reaches Thailand

April 25, 2025
1.6k

“This is a low-cost, year-round, safe way of reducing the spread of dengue in which the whole community can participate,” said ADB health specialist Gerard Servais. “It offers a viable alternative to using chemicals and can reduce the scale of costly emergency response activities to contain epidemics.”

The diminutive fish are ideal for the purpose, being prolific reproducers. The gestation period is 21 to 30 days, the female dropping up to 50 fry at a time. They prefer water temperatures of 20-27 degrees Celsius, ideal for tropical climates. They eat just about anything including flake foods, rine shrimp, algae—or mosquito larvae.

The trial was conducted in two districts, one in Cambodia and the other in Laos, from 2009 to 2011, resulting in a sharp decline in mosquito larvae. Guppies eat larvae that grow into mosquitoes, which in turn infect humans with dengue, an enormously painful infectious tropical disease also known as bonebreak fever because of the deep muscle and joint pain it causes. Victims have been known to lose as much as 10 kg in a few days because of the fever and other ailments it causes. It can develop into dengue hemorrhagic fever and possibly dengue shock syndrome, leading to death if it is not treated properly.

“Outbreaks of the illness not only affect families with sudden health care costs and loss of incomes for adults put out of work, but also impact health services, businesses and tourism,” an ADB study said, “straining government budgets due to unplanned spending on large-scale emergency response measures.”

Dengue has become a global problem throughout Southeast Asia in particular although it is now endemic to more than 100 countries. Although intensive work has gone on to produce a vaccine, so far there has been little success. Eliminating the mosquitoes is currently the most effective remedy.

“Around 2.5 billion people worldwide are at risk of contracting dengue, more than 70 percent of whom live in Asia and the Pacific,” the ADB study said. “The threat of exposure to dengue-carrying mosquitoes is rising with uncontrolled urbanization and a surge in the use of non-biodegradable packaging, which can act as a water reservoir for dengue mosquito breeding.

Dengue is spread by a specific mosquito that breeds readily in standing water, such as found in storage containers, flower pots and discarded tires. The guppies are particularly effective in these settings.

“The project was successful in mobilizing communities with widespread grassroots participation, and high levels of acceptance of fish as an effective way of reducing the spread of dengue,” said Dr. Eva Christophel, a WHO specialist in vectorborne diseases. “This project was an important contribution to WHO’s efforts to develop a toolkit of different community-based methods to prevent and reduce the magnitude of dengue transmission.”

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Health
Asia Sentinal

Asia Sentinal

...

Similar Picks:

Myanmar’s Youth Flee—and They Aren’t Looking Back
Commentary

Myanmar’s Youth Flee—and They Aren’t Looking Back

by Aung Zaw
February 23, 2024
8.4k

In Thailand and farther afield, they join the wealthy and the educated who have already put down roots and invested...

Read moreDetails
Rare Earth Mining Taking Heavy Toll in Myanmar’s Kachin, Groups Say
Burma

Rare Earth Mining Taking Heavy Toll in Myanmar’s Kachin, Groups Say

by Hein Htoo Zan
May 27, 2024
5.3k

Amid heavy global demand for rare earths, local activists’ concerns about the impacts on the environment and local communities are...

Read moreDetails
Life Without Power Spells Daily Misery for Yangon’s Residents
Burma

Life Without Power Spells Daily Misery for Yangon’s Residents

by Nyein Nyein
January 29, 2025
5k

Lack of electricity affects every aspect of Yangon residents’ daily lives, from work to sleep, and now even hotter weather...

Read moreDetails
‘Everyone Sits Outside’: Parks Offer Heatwave Relief in Myanmar’s Largest City
Burma

‘Everyone Sits Outside’: Parks Offer Heatwave Relief in Myanmar’s Largest City

by AFP
April 29, 2024
4.4k

Amid searing temperatures, and without power for hours a day due to post-coup energy disruptions, Yangon residents are taking refuge...

Read moreDetails
With Motorbikes Banned, Yangon Delivery Riders Struggle in Heatwave
Burma

With Motorbikes Banned, Yangon Delivery Riders Struggle in Heatwave

by AFP
May 2, 2024
3.7k

A previous junta outlawed motorbikes for ‘security reasons’, so delivery workers rely on pedal power—a daunting prospect amid the current...

Read moreDetails
Junta Watch: New Honors to Flatter Foreign Allies; Playing the Blame Game (Again); and More
Junta Watch

Junta Watch: New Honors to Flatter Foreign Allies; Playing the Blame Game (Again); and More

by The Irrawaddy
March 23, 2024
2.7k

Also this week, the regime orchestrated Rohingya protests, lost the builder of its capital, and praised Putin after not-so-free election. 

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Mr. Clean Catches China’s Graft Tigers by the Tail

Mr. Clean Catches China’s Graft Tigers by the Tail

Dutch Apologize for Colonial Killings in Indonesia

Dutch Apologize for Colonial Killings in Indonesia

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

7 days ago
1.3k
‘Not a Witch Hunt’: Upholding Survivor-Centered Justice in Myanmar

‘Not a Witch Hunt’: Upholding Survivor-Centered Justice in Myanmar

5 days ago
664

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta Launches Space Agency With Russian Help

    Myanmar Junta Launches Space Agency With Russian Help

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta’s ‘Living Fence’ on Thai Border Falls to Karen Resistance

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Indian Army Accused of Deadly Strike on Separatists in Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Moves into Nawnghkio Outskirts

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.