DDT Re-Approved To Fight Malaria

Avatar for Matt Hopkins By Scott C. Lucas|20 September 2006

According to a WHO statement, proper indoor spraying of the insecticide can reduce the cases of malaria transmission by up to 90%. The recommendation by WHO has been applauded by African and Asian leaders and health officials, where malaria remains a major problem. Indoor spraying with DDT has proven to be a cost-effective response to malaria, which kills about 1 million people annually, most of them children under five years old.

"One of the best tools we have against malaria is indoor residual house spraying," said Dr. Arata Kochi, director of the WHO malaria department. "Of the dozen pesticides WHO has approved as safe for house spraying, the most effective is DDT."

Once a widely popular insecticide, DDT had been banned due to the risks it posed to wildlife, the food chain, and ultimately to humans. Currently, production of DDT is minimal worldwide due to the ban, but as demand for the product is expected to grow, more sources of production will likely be brought on-line.

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