A number of countries in Africa want to return to using DDT despite its toxicity because nothing else succeeds in exterminating the mosquitoes
The headlines screamed "A method to eradicate malaria" "Researchers in Israel have developed a method to destroy mosquitoes", according to the newspapers: "Mosquitoes are attracted to sweets, spraying flowers with poisoned sugar that will attract mosquitoes will poison the mosquitoes and destroy them"... Spraying acacia flowers"….. So far the quote, it is important to note that I have not seen the original, a translation/interpretation of scientific studies in the press does not excel in accuracy and closeness to the original, so it is important to refer to the translation accordingly.
The publication of the "wonderful solution" comes at the exact time when the World Health Organization is calling for a return to the use of DDT. For a long time, the health authorities, mainly in African countries such as Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and others, have been pressing to allow the use of DDT. To "eradicate" the malaria-carrying Anopheles mosquitoes.
Countries like Kenya and Uganda depend on help from external bodies (donors), a dependence that causes them to obey instructions that do not always suit their needs and the demands of the local population, for many years this dependence prevents the (dependent) countries from acting against malaria according to their own way/will. The declared way of prevention - until now, was by using mosquito nets treated with mosquito repellents. Knowing that there is a partial benefit in using it in the villages, but it is not a significant solution, according to the health authorities in these countries, the use of DDT by spraying inside residential buildings can reduce the number of malaria patients by 90%, and again to this day such use is avoided due to vigorous opposition of the donor bodies!
It should be noted that in DRAP DDT has been in continuous use since 1946. The use is only in three of the nine districts in the country, as well as in the neighboring districts of Swaziland and Zimbabwe, the spraying is limited to residential buildings - internal walls, thus avoiding environmental damage and indeed the statistics show a disciplinary decrease in malaria cases . In 1990, the use of DDT (in DRAP) was stopped, an attempt was made to switch to other insecticides, the malaria epidemic broke out again and the writing returned to DDT which proved to be the most effective. The fact that DRAP is strong (politically and economically) enough not to consider the boycotts of other countries led it to lead the campaign to return the use of DDT. A journey that is bearing fruit (fruits in the making?) these days.
A short reminder: in the seventies (twentieth century) the D.D.T. From use, this following the appearance of the poison in all living systems and its destructive effect on everyone and everything that comes in contact with it, after it had been in use for about thirty years, Rachel Carson wrote "The Silent Spring" (1962) which describes an environment without life because of DDT. In 1969, the "National Cancer Agency" in the USA announced that "the D.D.T. is a carcinogen." Initially in the USA (1972) and later throughout the world, regulations were implemented to prohibit the use of poison. Since then, many researchers are looking for a means that will be as cheap and effective as the DDT. And will not be an environmental risk, a search that has so far yielded nothing.
According to the health authorities in African countries, D.D.T. It is the most effective substance for the treatment/killing of mosquitoes, both because of its high toxicity and because to date the mosquitoes have not developed resistance to the poison. According to them, proper/careful treatment by spraying interior walls in buildings, once a season, with the right concentration, can minimize the impact of mosquitoes. It is worth mentioning that until the XNUMXs, the practice was to spray the poison in open areas, water bodies, swamps, agricultural areas, and in any damp place.
Under the pressure of the Africans, the World Health Organization approved the use of the poison with serious reservations regarding the form of use: according to the organization, the use would only be allowed for spraying inside buildings: a pest control program that received the name: (IRS) (indoor residual spraying). The organization distributed a guide for the use of the poison, to prevent the poison from spreading in the natural environment and to prevent repeated harm such as the harm that occurred in the seventies.
In Kenya and Uganda, the attackers claim that DDT is being used. Because in the face of the risk that the European Union will boycott the import of products that contain traces of poison, the benefits must be set aside: preventing the death of 500 people every day, damages to the economy due to absenteeism amounting to a billion dollars every year, treating patients at a cost of about a billion and a half dollars a year, damages Ancillary to the economy amount to millions, and thus the risks and economic losses from home stand against the risk of losses outside.
Green organizations, but also fishermen and farmers in Africa are among those who oppose the use of the poison since traces of D.D.T. In the produce exported to Europe, tobacco, fish, coffee, cotton, flowers, cocoa, vanilla and many other agricultural crops are exported to many of the Western countries, the discovery of traces of poison in the produce will cause the purchase to stop, which will cause billions of dollars in losses to the exporting countries. That is why it is important to have the approval of the World Health Organization, a certificate that will give kosher to the produce.
According to the World Health Organization, "proper use, coordinated spraying at the right times and inside the buildings alone can reduce the spread of malaria by 90%." In order to reach the goal on the one hand and on the other hand not to cause an environmental disaster, the employees of the health authorities are supposed to brief residents on how to spray and are supposed to reach about 85% of the residents in the target areas, when the cost of spraying is estimated at about five dollars per house, (to be financed by the donating bodies). It is clear that there will be a need for constant monitoring of the use of the poison: quantities, concentration, spraying times and the location of the spraying, for this the countries will be obliged to allow monitoring and supervision by the World Health Organization, such permission has already been given by Tanzania and it is assumed that the other countries will follow suit.
As stated above, every pest control activity involves the consent of (external) donating organizations, since the activity costs money that comes from those organizations, the first to give its consent is one of the largest environmental protection organizations in the USA, the "Sierra Club", while the club's director says that the consent is due to a lack of Choice and intention that the use of poison be monitored and controlled. European organizations will join later,
The risk of returning to the use of DDT is great, since use not according to the guidelines may return the poison to the natural environment and the results of this are already known. central, while it is precisely in such areas that malaria is more common, (it is also worth remembering that in such areas the concept of "internal walls of buildings" is not real, since what buildings are we referring to? Fabric tents? Wicker arbors? Mud buildings?) Therefore, despite the positive reactions to " "licensing" given by the World Health Organization for the use of DDT, the chance of malaria disappearing is not visible on the horizon, while the risk of returning to the use of the poison is certainly threatening! After all this it is clear to all parties that the use of DDT He is a compromise and not the "silver bullet" that will solve the problem at once...
Is the "silver bullet" in the opening paragraph promising a solution...? To the best of my knowledge (maybe I'm wrong?) there are indeed mosquitoes that are attracted to sweetness, these are mainly mosquito species that subsist on nectar, as well as males of Anopheles and Culex mosquitoes. Anopheles mosquitoes - carrying / spreading the fever parasite are not attracted to nectar. For many years, the concentrations of Anopheles in Israel - if there are any, they are minimal, as they are discussed in the continuous activity of the Ministry of Health. - The mosquitoes that cause nuisance are mainly Colax, indeed these also transmit injuries and diseases... not malaria. It is clear that harming/destroying male mosquitoes will harm the entire mosquito population, there are attempts to sterilize males, but this is an expensive procedure.
In order for an insecticide to be good, it must meet two main criteria: the first: it must be very effective in killing all insects - in our case mosquitoes, since inefficiency promotes resistance; The second measure is environmentally friendly - in order to be environmentally friendly it is important that the poison only harms the person it is aimed at, so as not to harm others, - the poison must have a "short shelf life", that is, shortly after it is dispersed, the poison must break down, again to prevent harm to others; - After injury/killing, the poison must break down quickly, to prevent secondary poisoning.
According to the researchers (as quoted in the publications) "The poison harms other insects and has low toxicity to birds and mammals because of the small amounts. Did the researchers take into account the reality of flutters, bats, monkeys and other creatures that are attracted to sweetness? Did the researchers take into account insectivores - who would collect the carcasses of the dead mosquitoes en masse? I didn't see a clear answer to these questions in the publications, so it can be hoped that the answers were simply omitted, because if the answers to the questions are negative, then there is indeed an argument for controlled extermination.
If the published data is indeed correct, that is, it is possible to exterminate male Anopheles mosquitoes by exploiting their attraction to sweets, if the poison they used is not harmful to the environment, then this is a sensational development! Since the D.D.T. can be replaced. Notorious in a simple, cheap and effective way!
