Are there different health risks linked to fresh and brackish (salty) water?
All malaria transmitting mosquitoes belong to the genus Anopheles which breeds exclusively in fresh, clean water, with the exception of Anopheles sundaicus, which breeds in brackish water. The original distribution of Anopheles. sundaicus is linked to its natural habitats of mangrove forests and coastal lagoons. It starts in eastern India (but not as far south as Tamil Nadu) then along the coasts of Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Viet Nam. Organically polluted water does not support the breeding of the malaria vector; rather it helps propagate Culex quinquefasciatus, in some parts a vector of lymphatic filariasis, and a main nuisance mosquito. In the context of this disaster lymphatic filiarisis is however not a disease of immediate relevance due to its long incubation period.