New method to effectively kill malaria mosquito larvae

Use oil to disperse pathogenic fungi on the water surface to help kill mosquito larvae effectively.

Anophen mosquitoes transmit malaria

An effective way to reduce the risk of malaria spread is to kill mosquitoes at the time of larvae with M. anisopliae and B. bassiana. These two fungi cause limb disease that causes mosquito larvae to die before becoming pupa and mature.

Tullu Bukhari works at the Insect Laboratory, University of Wageningen, the Netherlands uses a synthetic oil (ShellSol T) to disperse the two fungi onto the surface of the water, causing mosquito larvae to feed on the surface of the water. will be destroyed when eaten.

This oil is easy to mix with spores, while improving dispersion of spores throughout the water. This simple formula has increased both the durability and effectiveness of spores capable of killing more than 50% of the larvae compared to non-oil spores and reducing the level of pupae below 20%.

" Both oil and spores are only very small risk for fish and aquatic organisms, so it is also safe for the environment ," Tullu Bukhari said.

The study has just been published in the Journal of Parasites and Insects by BioMed Central, UK.

The World Health Organization says every year there are 200 million cases of malaria. Malaria has caused 781,000 deaths in 2009. When a mosquito bites, the Plasmodium parasite causes malaria to spread from mosquito saliva into the body and into the liver and blood cells causing fever. Once infected, the body is difficult to recover because some Plasmodum species are immobile and avoid anti-malarial effects. These species may also be resistant to antimalarial drugs that prevent infection.