In Africa, the Anopheles gambiae mosquito is the principle carrier of the malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum, the most dangerous of four different parasites.
Dr Sharma told the meeting that fish had virtually eliminated malaria-carrying Anopheles mosquitoes from some districts, though he cautioned that the strategy did not work everywhere.
Sir Ronald, who discovered the malarial parasite living in the gastrointestinal tract of the Anopheles mosquito in the 19th Century, recruited teams to eliminate the larvae from stagnant pools and marshes.