DDT In Sub-Saharan Africa

A positive consequence of DDT is its effectiveness, even in the face of pesticide resistance in the anopheles mosquito. The eradication of malaria in the United States and the health of US Soldiers while fighting in World War II can be greatly credited to the use of DDT

"I want to tell you a story from Borneo: in the 1950s, the Dayak people had malaria, and the World Health Organization had a solution. They sprayed DDT, which killed the mosquitoes, and the malaria declined. But there were side-effects. The roofs of the houses started to fall down on people’s heads because, it seemed, the DDT had also killed tiny parasitic wasps that had previously controlled thatch-eating

Many animals kill countless numbers of humans every second, minutes, and hours. The mosquito is among those predators, and it causes the most morbidity and mortality among humans compared to any other animal or insect. Mosquitoes are notoriously known for causing malaria worldwide. Malaria is a disabling illness which can result in mobility and mortality. People infected with the disease become weak over a period of time. This reduces their productivity level; thus it makes simple activities of daily living difficulty to accomplish. Some of the common symptoms of malaria resemble those of the flu. Malaria is an extreme health burden in low and middle income countries especially African countries. Moreover, the disease is mostly prevalent in sub-Saharan African countries, among pregnant women and children age 5 and younger. Over the years, scientists have discovered and developed several methods to control the spread of malaria. One of the most controversial control methods for malaria is DDT. DDT is short for dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane; this method come in the form of a pesticide or insecticide. It is used to kill pest and insects specifically mosquitoes. “DDT is used in indoor spraying for control of vectors of malaria and visceral leishmaniasis” (Van den Berg, 2009). Scientists have realized that the pesticide could be effective at preventive malaria by reducing the amount of mosquitoes in the environment. Despite this, concerns about the effectiveness and safety of

Throughout his essay, Suzuki supports his arguments with specific examples. To justify his reasoning, the author uses the case of DDT, otherwise known as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane. This chemical compound is used as an insecticide to eliminate the population of malaria-carrying mosquitoes, which it did effectively, and saved millions of lives. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, complications arose, which led to an increase in chemicals and caused a domino effect of

Furthermore, the preceding statement supports Carson’s intention to present an informative, persuasive, and logical point of view without shocking or confusing the reader. Carson presents the problem calmly in the opening paragraph and states her claim as a practical approach to stop or decrease the amount of the spraying of DDT pesticides in combined efforts to stop the super races of insects like mosquitoes for example from becoming immune. Including this support for her thesis Carson argues mosquitoes becoming immune to the man-made vaccines presently available would inarguably have serious, detrimental and adverse negative impacts upon the effectiveness of the

DDT is a very controversial product… but why? DDT was a pesticide used in the 1950s and it was very effective at killing mosquitoes. This was good because mosquitoes carry a very deadly disease called malaria. But soon the government banned its use in the USA. It supposedly has been decreasing the populations of bald eagles. They think that it makes the eggshells thinner, so when the eagle it trying to keep the eggs warm it might break the eggs on accident. Many people are happy about this ban and others are not. Some researchers feel that evidence supports a ban on DDT while others feel that it is an over reaction to an environmental concern. DDT has been shown to help control the malaria parasite. Evidence supports the banning

”On those visits, I feel not only the spirit of the local people…and the seasonal change.”(345).Nowadays seasonal variation in industrial societies is minimized by importing many products that mature in specific seasons from different parts of the world. Technologies however, are impacting on our lives. “DDT would exert incredible selective pressure for mutations that would confer resistance” (347), it killed malaria-carrying mosquitoes but in few years large numbers of mosquitoes will return. It also has ecological damage the compound is ingested by many organisms, become concentrated up the food chain in a process called biomagnification. It causes heavy bird mortality.

DDT has been used since WW2 as an insecticide to control the outbreak of malaria and typhus among troops and civilians. This is because malaria is spread by mosquitos and DDT was considered to be a powerful in eliminating these populations, thus decreasing the infection rate for malaria. Since it was first discovered as an insecticide, worldwide it was used in very large amounts because nobody knew any better and it was considered to be revolutionary. It wasn’t until 1962, when biologist Rachel Carson first outlined the potential harm DDT has on the environment, believing it caused cancer in humans and harmed bird wildlife. This led to the United Stated ban of DDT use in 1972, and later, a worldwide ban under the Stockholm

One reason why DDT should not be used is because of its harmful effects on humans. First, research had shown that the consumption of DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) had caused many people to contract many dangerous diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, obesity, kidney and ovarian diseases. Studies had also linked the use of DDT to be a carcinogenic, causing breast cancer in women. A study of 9,300

The use of pesticides is an important decision that thousands of communities face each year. Nobody likes dealing with mosquitos and the diseases they bring so using chemicals and pesticides is an option but with other consequences. Mosquitos carry West Nile Virus that affects the city of Genericville every year with 50 cases projected this year in the city and two fatalities as well. On the other hand, the chemicals proposed for controlling the mosquito population has its own risks. The pesticide Malathion is also dangerous to people if they come in contact with it before it degrades. The potential for citizens of the city being exposed is almost a certainty

In the book Silent Spring, Rachel Carson’s main concern is the widespread use of synthetic pesticides and their impact on the environment. Carson concentrates on a commonly used pesticide in the 1950s called DDT. She opposes the indiscriminate spraying of DDT because it has profound consequences on the environment, humans and animals. Carson collected information about how the DDT can cause cancer in humans, harm animals such as birds and remained in the environment for long periods of time. Subsequently, the chemicals in the pesticides are extremely harmful so she tries to raise awareness and convince others that there are better alternatives.

With all this focus on the development of new drugs to combat malaria, an old effective method has been forgotten. The chemical DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) has proven effective in reducing malaria cases. Popularly used as a pesticide in the middle of the twentieth century, killed the mosquito population that was responsible for malaria related deaths. The number of people in India that contracted malaria in the 1940’s was approximately 75 million a year with 800,000 dying as a result. With the introduction of DDT, the number of cases dropped to 50,000 by 1961. Similar cases have been documented in Sri Lanka, where the number of cases dropped in 18 years from 3 million to 29 after the introduction of DDT (“DDT Delirium,” 2002). The difference in numbers is staggering.

DDT is a pesticide that is deleterious to a majority of living organisms. When humans are exposed to DDT, different conditions can erupt. For example, DDT was banned in 1972 for causing the Alzheimer’s disease, obesity, kidney and ovarian diseases. DDT has also been found to cause early pregnancy loss because of the damaging it causes to the reproductive system. I know this because I have read it in the article “The Effects of DDT on Organisms and their Environments.” Furthermore, DDT cause infertility in men and women. Recent studies have found DDT to be carcinogenic, or able to cause cancer. It increases the risk of breast cancer when exposed in utero or while in the mother’s womb. It is clear that DDT can be destructive the human population.

While this program experienced success in some regions of the world with many nations showing sharp reductions in the number of new malaria cases, the program failed in its ultimate goal of eradicating the disease due to the emergence of drug and insecticide resistance as well as the discovery of the environmental and health effects caused by the toxicity of the principal insecticide being used; DDT. Elimination was most successful in temperate countries and malaria remains a major problem for tropical regions of the world, most especially sub-Saharan Africa (CDC).

Malaria is an important public health disease endemic in over a hundred countries globally. About 90% of malaria deaths occur in Africa with a child dying every forty five seconds. Malaria accounts for 16% of child deaths in the Africa (Remme, Binka & Nabarro 2001) and 7% of deaths in children worldwide (WHO 2010). It is a disease of poverty, causing significant constraint to the economic growth of susceptible nations (WHO 2010; Sachs, Malaney 2002). Globally, numerous malaria control programmes have been initiated to eliminate and eradicate the disease. In this context, eradication refers to a reduction in the global incidence of malaria to zero, such that its does not require any further control interventions. Elimination refers to a