A variety of fish that eats mosquito eggs and larvae is also being deployed to fight the chikungunya epidemic.
Scientists battling China's largest chikungunya epidemic are releasing swarms of giant cannibal mosquitoes whose larvae devour the smaller insects spreading the debilitating disease.
These so-called "elephant mosquitoes," measuring nearly 2 centimeters (0.8 inches) in length, are voracious predators.
Public health experts hope these unusual allies will become unlikely heroes in stopping the painful, fast-moving virus in the southern province of Guangdong.
With more than 6,000 infections reported in just three weeks in Foshan alone, authorities are also reviving familiar tactics from the COVID-19 playbook, including mass PCR testing, isolation of infected residents, and neighborhood-wide disinfection campaigns.
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Yet it's the unconventional methods -- giant mosquitoes -- that underscore the desperation of officials confronting an unprecedented outbreak.
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The larvae of these so-called elephant mosquitoes, also known as Toxorhynchites splendens, is released by a research team from Sun Yat-sen University's Zhongshan School of Medicine in Guangdong. They don't bite humans but prey on Aedes mosquitoes -- the primary vectors of chikungunya, dengue, Zika, and yellow fever.
Foshan, a sprawling city in central Guangdong, is deploying another tool: a local variety of fish that eats mosquito eggs and larvae. More than 5,000 of the fish have been released into city ponds and rivers.
The city has designated 53 hospitals for chikungunya treatment, offering more than 3,600 beds equipped with mosquito nets and plans to expand capacity, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
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In nearby Guangzhou, officials published a risk map of all 120 communities and launched a week-long campaign involving mosquito spraying twice a day.
One larva of the elephant mosquito can consume up to 100 Aedes, according to Zhang Dongjing, associate professor and technical director of a "mosquito factory" linked to Sun Yat-sen University that also breeds and releases millions of sterile male mosquitoes each week to suppress wild populations.
Chikungunya, a viral disease that can cause severe joint pain, headaches, and vomiting, was first identified in 1952 in Tanzania.
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Its history in China is short: the country recorded its first imported case in 2008, and the first local outbreak came in 2010, infecting 253 people. Since then, only sporadic cases have been reported -- until now.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering a travel notice for China as infections rise, a spokesperson told Bloomberg News this week.