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One of the most controversial chemicals on the planet is set to make a comeback as a prime weapon in the fight against malaria in Africa, reports a special News Feature in the August issue of Nature Medicine.
DDT helped eradicate malaria from the US in the 1940s, but was indiscriminately overused for agricultural purposes in the 1950s and 1960s. Beginning in the 1970s, the US and several European countries banned the pesticide, largely due to concerns about environmental harm. Pressure from international agencies also led many African countries to abandon DDT’s use. Meanwhile the malaria epidemic continues to escalate, killing an estimated 1 million people each year. About 90% of the deaths, most of them in children under the age of five, occur in sub-Saharan Africa.
Now, the World Health Organization is set to endorse the use of DDT for malaria control. The United States Agency for International Development has already approved its reintroduction. As reported in Nature Medicine, evidence suggests that specific use of the chemical in targeted indoor house-spraying programs should pose a low risk of adverse consequences on the environment and on human health.
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