Module 4: Additional Articles on DDT and Malaria

It has been found to be effective in killing the mosquito, which spreads malaria; the louse, which spreads typhus; the flea, which spreads the plague; and the sandfly, which spreads tropical diseases.

The second event was the Russian typhus epidemic, the largest typhus epidemic in history.

He worked for J.R. Geigy (which eventually became today’s drug giant Novartis), developing tanning methods for protecting clothes from insects, and a safe seed disinfectant that wasn’t based on poisonous mercury compounds, as was common in his era.

Environmentalists and public health advocates remained polarized for decades over DDT.

Environmentalists and public health advocates remained polarized for decades over DDT.

Raptors were also hurt by other problems such as hunting and deforestation.

A food web is all of the feeding relationships in an ecosystem.

In the malaria-plagued regions of Africa, where mosquitoes are becoming resistant to other chemicals, DDT is now being used as an indoor repellent.

DDT helped much of the developed world, including the United States and Europe, eradicate malaria.

Scientific scrutiny has failed to find conclusive evidence that DDT causes cancer or other health problems in humans.

Fortunately, research aimed at developing new and better insecticides continues—thanks especially to the work of the international Innovative Vector Control Consortium.

Use of DDT to fight malaria has been increasing since it was endorsed in 2006 by the World Health Organization and the President's Malaria Initiative, a U.S. aid program launched by former President Bush.

"Based on recent studies, we conclude that humans are exposed to DDT and DDE, that indoor residual spraying can result in substantial exposure and that DDT may pose a risk for human populations," the scientists wrote in their consensus statement, published online today in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

"Based on recent studies, we conclude that humans are exposed to DDT and DDE, that indoor residual spraying can result in substantial exposure and that DDT may pose a risk for human populations," the scientists wrote in their consensus statement, published online today in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

"Based on recent studies, we conclude that humans are exposed to DDT and DDE, that indoor residual spraying can result in substantial exposure and that DDT may pose a risk for human populations," the scientists wrote in their consensus statement, published online today in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

"DDT is now used in countries where many of the people are malnourished, extremely poor and possibly suffering from immune-compromising diseases such as AIDS, which may increase their susceptibility to chemical exposures," said panel member Jonathan Chevrier, a University of California at Berkeley post-doctoral researcher in epidemiology and in environmental health sciences.

"DDT is now used in countries where many of the people are malnourished, extremely poor and possibly suffering from immune-compromising diseases such as AIDS, which may increase their susceptibility to chemical exposures," said panel member Jonathan Chevrier, a University of California at Berkeley post-doctoral researcher in epidemiology and in environmental health sciences.

"DDT is now used in countries where many of the people are malnourished, extremely poor and possibly suffering from immune-compromising diseases such as AIDS, which may increase their susceptibility to chemical exposures," said panel member Jonathan Chevrier, a University of California at Berkeley post-doctoral researcher in epidemiology and in environmental health sciences.

Mexico, the rest of Central America and parts of Africa have combated malaria without DDT by using alternative methods, such as controlling stagnant ponds where mosquitoes breed and using bed nets treated with pyrethroid insecticides.

"The area to be covered is also vast, and infrastructure in most areas is too little to allow environmental management on a sustainable basis," he said.

The panel convened in March, 2008, at Alma College in Michigan, near a Superfund site where DDT was produced at a chemical plant.

Their goal was "to address the current and legacy implications of DDT production and use," according to their report.

The chemical not only repels the disease-carrying insects physically, but its irritant and toxic properties helps keep them away, the researchers reported in the Public Library of Science journal PLOS ONE.

The chemical not only repels the disease-carrying insects physically, but its irritant and toxic properties helps keep them away, the researchers reported in the Public Library of Science journal PLOS ONE.

They estimate that DDT spray reduced the risk of disease transmission by nearly three-quarters.

“In huts sprayed with alphacypermethrin, all 100 mosquitoes would enter the house. Of the 100 that entered, 15 would die. Of the remaining 85, 46 would exit prematurely and 9 of those would die,” they wrote.