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Source: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/new...engue-scientist/2009/03/20/1237055067203.html
Tiny jellyfish may be key to stopping dengue: scientist
Andrew Wight | March 20, 2009 - 12:59PM
A ghostly white jellyfish the size of a 10 cent piece could be the secret weapon in the fight against dengue fever, a Tasmanian biologist believes.
With 728 confirmed cases of the mosquito-borne infection now ravaging North Queensland, authorities are continuing to search for ways to control the numbers of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which spread dengue and breed in stagnant water.
But Launceston-based researcher Dr Lisa Gershwin believes a species of mosquito-munching jellyfish may be the key to keeping numbers down.
The freshwater Craspedacusta sowerbyi can live in small bodies of water and have a taste for mosquito larvae.
Dr Gershwin said she had discovered the jellyfish living in a lake in Launceston and noticed they liked to eat mosquito larvae after she began keeping them herself.
"The question is whether they will eat larvae when there are other food sources around," Dr Gershwin told brisbanetimes.com.au.
"If they do, the idea will be to put them in small backyard ponds, where mosquitoes usually breed, to attract mosquitoes to a place where the larvae would be eaten."
Dr Gershwin, who is the curator of natural science at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in Launceston, said a careful study was needed before introducing the creatures into a new environment.
But unlike other natural pest-control measures that have ended in disaster, she said the species was already endemic around the world and had caused no major problems.
"The freshwater jellyfish is really introduced to the whole world, as they all belong to the one species and have been spread by birds and possibly by plants being moved from place to place," she said.
"I'm painfully aware that we don't want another cane toad.
"Jellyfish are known as 'animal weeds', but this freshwater jellyfish is found all over the world and hasn't had any significant effects on the eco-systems where they were found."
Dr Gershwin, who appears on Brisbane radio for a weekly science segment, said she was now in a position to attract funding and start a project that would take up to two years to see whether the jellyfish are a viable biocontrol.
"This would be a perfect PhD project for someone."
Comment is being sought from Queensland Health on the merits of a proposed study ahead of a planned dengue summit next month to discuss the current outbreak and its handling.
Tiny jellyfish may be key to stopping dengue: scientist
Andrew Wight | March 20, 2009 - 12:59PM
A ghostly white jellyfish the size of a 10 cent piece could be the secret weapon in the fight against dengue fever, a Tasmanian biologist believes.
With 728 confirmed cases of the mosquito-borne infection now ravaging North Queensland, authorities are continuing to search for ways to control the numbers of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which spread dengue and breed in stagnant water.
But Launceston-based researcher Dr Lisa Gershwin believes a species of mosquito-munching jellyfish may be the key to keeping numbers down.
The freshwater Craspedacusta sowerbyi can live in small bodies of water and have a taste for mosquito larvae.
Dr Gershwin said she had discovered the jellyfish living in a lake in Launceston and noticed they liked to eat mosquito larvae after she began keeping them herself.
"The question is whether they will eat larvae when there are other food sources around," Dr Gershwin told brisbanetimes.com.au.
"If they do, the idea will be to put them in small backyard ponds, where mosquitoes usually breed, to attract mosquitoes to a place where the larvae would be eaten."
Dr Gershwin, who is the curator of natural science at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in Launceston, said a careful study was needed before introducing the creatures into a new environment.
But unlike other natural pest-control measures that have ended in disaster, she said the species was already endemic around the world and had caused no major problems.
"The freshwater jellyfish is really introduced to the whole world, as they all belong to the one species and have been spread by birds and possibly by plants being moved from place to place," she said.
"I'm painfully aware that we don't want another cane toad.
"Jellyfish are known as 'animal weeds', but this freshwater jellyfish is found all over the world and hasn't had any significant effects on the eco-systems where they were found."
Dr Gershwin, who appears on Brisbane radio for a weekly science segment, said she was now in a position to attract funding and start a project that would take up to two years to see whether the jellyfish are a viable biocontrol.
"This would be a perfect PhD project for someone."
Comment is being sought from Queensland Health on the merits of a proposed study ahead of a planned dengue summit next month to discuss the current outbreak and its handling.