Bringing back a killer pesticide
WHO decides to step up support for DDT use to stop the spread of malaria.
The World Health Organization (WHO) will actively encourage broader reintroduction of DDT to fight malaria in Africa, according to an announcement made on September 15. WHO will be promoting the pesticide for use indoors to kill disease-bearing mosquitoes at times when they threaten humans most.
The balance between protecting the environment from a persistent organic compound and using it to save lives has long made DDT controversial as a way to kill mosquitoes. The pesticide gets credit for eradicating malaria in the U.S. and Europe in the 1950s and 1960s as well as for protecting ground troops during World War II and other conflicts.
But DDT’s harmful effects on bird reproduction led to a ban on its use in the U.S. in 1972. Researchers also have argued in the past that DDT lost its impact as mosquitoes adapted to the pesticide.
WHO considered about a dozen other possible compounds before endorsing DDT, which has continued to be used in a limited fashion for indoor applications in certain African regions. But Arata Kochi, director of WHO’s malaria department, announced in September [28KB PDF] that the organization would now back DDT for expanded use.
“After this reevaluation, the World Health Organization is announcing that indoor residual spraying with DDT and other insecticides will again play a major role in its efforts to fight the disease,” Kochi said. “WHO is now recommending the use of indoor spraying not only in epidemic areas but also in areas with constant and high malaria transmission, including throughout Africa.”
