How Ministry of Health and Ministry of Agriculture Gambusia affinis Aquariums will reduce the Aedes Aegypti Mosquito Population

The Government of Jamaica doomed to repeat the same mistake again with the Tiki-Tiki Fish (Gambusia affinis). Or they may be geniuses, as this just might work!

I’m of course referring to the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture plan to give Jamaicans aquariums filled with Tiki-Tiki Fish as reported in the article “Tiki Tiki Fish Being Distributed To Households Islandwide To Kill Mosquito Larvae”, Published Wednesday September 14, 2016 by Jason Cross, The Jamaica Gleaner.

Otherwise known as the western mosquito fish (Gambusia affinis), the aim is to control the Aedes Aegypti Mosquito population islandwide naturally! They are distributing these Aedes Aegypti Mosquito larvae eating fish across this island in Jamaican households as a natural method of controlling the spread of the Aedes Aegypti Mosquito that spreads the Zika Virus.

Hopefully too, it’ll also encourage a love for Aquaculture.....at least that’s my take on it, as the Aquaculture Branch of the Ministry of Agriculture's Fisheries Division will be procuring the Tiki-Tiki Fish (Gambusia affinis).

Already, the Zika Virus has been identified as the causative agent behind Microcephaly, acute myelitis and Guillain-Barré syndrome as pointed out in my blog article entitled “How the Zika Virus now connected to Microcephaly, acute myelitis and Guillain-Barré syndrome”.

Now there is evidence from research done by Dr Joseph Gleeson, a professor at Rockefeller University that suggests that it may also affect adult brain cells as reported in the article “Zika may damage brain cells in adults, say scientists”, published Sunday, August 21, 2016, The Jamaica Observer.

Apparently the Zika Virus affects the pats of the brain critical to learning and memory and even behaviour.  So it’s not just babies anymore; we adult humans are in danger of basically falling prey to a virus that can reduce out thinking capacity even as adults, potentially making us more violent.

Just Great!

So can these Tiki-Tiki Fish make a difference in controlling the population of the vector that spreads the Zika Virus?

Ministry of Agriculture Portmore experiment with Gambusia affinis - Tiki-Tiki Fish were supposed to kill the Aedes Aegypti mosquito larvae

The answer is maybe! But first, some historical background into the use of Tiki-Tiki Fish (Gambusia affinis) in Jamaica!

The Tiki-Tiki Fish experiment has been tried already in Portmore back in December 2011 as note in the article “Portmore Tries 'Tiki Tiki' To Control Mosquitoes”, published Thursday December 22, 2011, The Jamaica Gleaner.

Good to note back then the Minister of Agriculture was Robert Montague of the JLP (Jamaica Labour Party). Portmore had been chosen because of the high level of mosquito infestation in that community.

This is because the flat topography and extensive drainage systems resulting in a lot of water that's non-moving. The result is that it provides a lot of slow or still water for the Aedes Aegypti mosquito to breed and infest the Portmore area, resulting in the Zika Virus spread in that community.

It is for this reason that they sought to use the Tiki-Tiki Fish (Gambusia affinis) being as they are a natural, or biological, control for Aedes Aegypti mosquito larvae as pointed out back then by Senior Public Health Inspector in the Vector Control Unit of the St Catherine Health Department, Simeon Bromfield.

This makes sense, as fogging only attacks the adult female Aedes Aegypti mosquito. However it only kills a small percentage of them and the Malathion Spray more like to affect humans as noted in my blog article entitled “Why Ministry of Health's Malathion caused asthma attacks at Ocho Rios High School and needs to be banned”. 

Worse, those that survive may potentially pass immunity to their offspring. So killing the Aedes Aegypti mosquito larvae is key to winning the battle against mosquitoes and controlling the spread of the Zika Virus.

Ministry of Health and Agriculture Experiment by 2012 - Tiki-Tiki Fish failed and the GOJ cover-up

By this token, a total of 10,000 fish Tiki-Tiki Fish, costing the Aquaculture Branch of the Ministry of Agriculture's Fisheries Division some JA$50,000, had been released into the drain on Adair Drive located in the Waterford Community of Portmore.

Carried over a three (3) days period starting from Friday December 16^th 2011, the fish were a part of an experiment to be monitored monthly over a six (6) month period. High hopes had been placed on this program, given their successful use in Singapore to control mosquitoes, as they had been proven that the fish can survive in harsh conditions, including saline and stagnant water.

By August 2012, according to former mayor of Portmore George Lee, the Tiki-Tiki Fish (Gambusia affinis) had died out, resulting in him prematurely declaring the program a failure as noted in the article “Ticky-ticky flop! - Portmore back to square one”, published Sunday, August 26, 2012, by Corey Robinson, The Sunday Observer.

He claims that the water in Portmore Gullies was too heavily polluted to the point that it was too acidic for the fish to thrive, quote:  “They didn't do very well in Portmore... they couldn't survive the acidity. They would have survived if we had cleaner water. But because of the toxity with the sewage going into our drains, they couldn't. So the programme wasn't successful”.

Although his sources were not mentioned, he made one observation that is correct; the level of sewage encourages the growth of water lilies. These act as water breaks in flowing water, making it possible for the Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes to lay their eggs during period of low water movement or water turbidity, attaching them to the leaves of these plants.

By the time the water starts to churn, the Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes would have already hatched in 22 days and begun the cycle once again.

The Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes lay up to 100 to 200 eggs; when they hatch and swim around in the still water pools created by the water lilies and garbage in the gullies. So even if they’d survived, the rate of reproduction of the Tiki-Tiki Fish (Gambusia affinis) would have to be equivalent to rate the Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes were reproducing to make a dent.

Strangely, the Ministry of Agriculture has been silent on the result of the Tiki-Tiki Fish (Gambusia affinis) experiment. This has led many Jamaicans to one to wonder if it had failed and they're trying to cover up the possible massive financial expenditure on a program that just didn't work.

So what can be done to kill the Aedes Aegypti mosquito larvae population and thus control the population of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito spreading the Zika Virus?

How to make the Tiki-Tiki Fish Aquariums Work – Cleaning Gullies too Expensive but necessary

There are many changes that can be made to make the Tiki-Tiki Fish (Gambusia affinis) as well as natural alternatives that can be used alongside the Tiki-Tiki Fish (Gambusia affinis).

One of the main changes with the  Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture Tiki-Tiki Fish (Gambusia affinis) Aquarium Program is that they’ll be distributed to households islandwide as pointed out in the article “Tiki Tiki Fish Being Distributed To Households Islandwide To Kill Mosquito Larvae”, Published Wednesday September 14, 2016 by Jason Cross, The Jamaica Gleaner.

This as it may be too expensive to clean the gullies and make them suitable for the “hardy” Tiki-Tiki Fish (Gambusia affinis). Thus encouraging all Jamaicans across the island to set up aquariums with Tiki-Tiki Fish (Gambusia affinis) to eat mosquito larvae may be the cheapest solution.

To make Tiki-Tiki Fish (Gambusia affinis) work in Gullies such as those in Portmore, the Government of Jamaica has to reduce the level of Garbage and pollutants being poured into the gullies, steam and rivers.

These pollutants, be it industrial waste from factories to people dumping garbage into the river, reduce the turbidity or moving water, make it more toxic with the presence of Rare Earth and heavy metal pollutants. It also increases the amount of organic material in the river, making algae, river lilies and other pathogen flourish and encouraging the Aedes Aegypti mosquito to lay their eggs and breed.

By making the water free-flowing, it presents less opportunity for them to breed. Part of this process may involve the dredging on these gullies, especially those in Portmore, to remove the mud that gathers at the bottom of the Gullies. This as during dry times, the moist mud, mostly made up of silt, is also a place where Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes often lay their eggs.

This aim is to keep the gullies free of debris, with the debris, which may be mostly plastic, electronics and other solid waste, being recycled to make revenue to support this initiative.

This is necessary but expensive as manpower and machines will be needed to clear and soft garbage and dredge the river; giving people an aquarium with a stock of Tiki-Tiki Fish (Gambusia affinis) is much cheaper.

Hence the reason why the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture are encouraging homeowners to grow Tiki-Tiki Fish (Gambusia affinis).

Natural pesticides and Mosquito Traps needed – DIY for homeowners looking for solutions

As for other natural alternatives that can be used, there are many, if you are the DIY (Do It yourself) type of Homeowner.

There is the use of the Garden croton, Tawa-tawa and Lemon grass extracts to kill Aedes Aegypti Mosquito Larvae as explained in my blog article entitled “How Garden croton, Tawa-tawa and Lemon grass can be used to kill Aedes Aegypti Mosquito Larvae”.

Discovered by Jerouen Paul Lumabao, a 10^th Grade student at Daniel R. Aguinaldo National High School in Davao City in the Philippines, this organic concoction can kill Aedes Aegypti Mosquito Larvae. However Jamaican scientists at the SRC (Scientific Research Council) would have to do their own analysis into the killing power, concentration required as well as its toxicity level and resultant effect on humans, plant and other marine life.

You don’t have to wait on them; it’s already known that Peppermint Oil kills insects such as Spiders, Cockroaches, Ants and Wasps and yes Mosquitoes, once the concentration is high enough as explained in my MICO Wars blog article entitled “How to use Mint Oil to ward off Mice and kill Spiders, Cockroaches, Ants and Wasps”.

Finally, the most practical may also be the most simple, as home owners can do this one themselves' build a Carbon Dioxide Generator Mosquito Trap as detailed in my blog article entitled “How to kill Zika and Yellow Fever mosquitoes using a Carbon Dioxide Generator Mosquito Trap”.

These can be scaled up to larger sizes, thus making it possible to kill mosquitoes in larger numbers than even using Destroyers or even Lemon Grass Candles as explained in my Geezam blog article entitled “How to make Environmentally Friendly Citronella (Lemon Grass) Oil for Mosquito Repellant Lotion and Candles”. 

These solutions, along with the Tiki-Tiki Fish (Gambusia affinis), will make a dent in the Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes population and reduce the debilitating effects to the Zika Virus.