The tiny shelled predator, a marine creature with the monstrous name Mesocyclops, can eat and kill hundreds of mosquito larvae a day that breed in water containers and other standing pools.

With support from Australian scientists, the control method was experimented in many villages in Vietnam and produced successful outcomes.

Thanks to the one-millimeter-long shellfish, 42 out of 46 pilot communes were free of the dengue mosquito and, thus, free of dengue, scientists said.

Dengue fever is a potentially deadly illness in most localities in Vietnam.

(Reported by Thanh Tung – Translated by The Vinh)