There is serious op-ed talk mulling the return of the insectide DDT, particularly for malaria-infected parts of the world. What is even more interesting is that this idea has caught on in the ultra-conservative media market and has become the liberal-bashing topic du jour of media darlings like Rush Limbaugh. Since I don’t waste perfectly good heartbeats listening to that swaggering gas bag, I have missed this “discussion”. Suddenly, Rush is concerned about the poor and destitute in Africa.
What has escaped discussion is the possibility that modern methods of high throughput experimentation might find permutations of the DDT “pharmacophore” that would afford something with higher activity and shorter environmental half life. Who knows, may be this has already been done? Maybe there is a sample of a DDT analog sitting on a shelf somewhere that has less aptitude for bioconcentration and a greater aptitude for photo or hydrolytic degradation. Then there is the potential for substantial wealth generation for Limbaugh’s wingnut paymasters.
DDT was clearly effective in suppressing mosquito-born illness for quite a long time. Surely there are labile analogs that are effective but less objectionable?
Lamentations on Chemistry 
I think this idea has been floated around for 5 years maybe 10 years. (It’s horrible how fast time passes by as you age.) I’d say plunge ahead with the DDT now and work on the alternatives. We’ve already lost 5 years (or is it 10 years?) The warm climates have the largest diversity in their ecosystem, and diversity = healthiness and robustness. These ecosystems can probably handle the intrusion better than say the artic tundra or even here in Minnesota, where the mosquito is jokingly called the state bird.
I guess I’m really out of the DDT loop. In regard to its use in mosquito infested Africa and its endemic malaria, I’m having trouble justifying why it isn’t being used.
Methoxychlor does not bioaccumulate (anisole rather than chlorobenzene in the DDT synthesis). What about the product from anisole and pivaldehyde? No chlorine is anywhere in there to get Enviro-whiner panties into a twist. It’s expensive enough to demand massive government subsidies (to friends), too.
The only difference between pouring money into Africa or into yout fireplace is that burning greenbacks locally will afford some warmth. Africa has a historic population of ~150 million. State-mandated charity has bloated that to nearly 900 million,
Which supports a desired future, Africa or MIT?
Nets have been advocated for a while as a method of minimizing exposure to malaria – they don’t cost much, aren’t likely to affect the environment significantly, and don’t require investment in research or development to work. (Rick Reilly of Sports Illustrated has written some articles on giving nets). People have also discussed the possibility of using DDT indoors, rather than as a carpet bombing agent – its utility would seem to depend on how much time people spend inside and where or when they get malaria. Of course, if DDT resistance is widespread, then its use will not be helpful anywhere.
The problem with DDT was likely the initial stop in its use – the story is told in Laurie Garrett’s The Coming Plague. When malaria hadn’t been eliminated in the timeframe promised, the US ceased the expanded funding for its eradication. In addition, resistance to DDT had been reported before the halt in funding (in 1961 – resistance had been reported earlier than that). At that point, the resistant species couldn’t be driven to low enough populations to be destroyed by other means, so they came back with a vengenance. This was a year before Silent Spring was published and eleven years before DDT was banned in the US. The “environmentalists are responsible for malaria deaths” line is about as true as most of what the Republicans in the US have been selling for ten years, which would be to say, not at all. But why let the truth get in the way of a good story?
World Malaria Day is April 25, 2008. Africa Fighting Malaria is issuing a Call to Action to support indoor residual spraying, a highly effective, World Health Organization-approved method of malaria control – check out our interactive Africa map: http://fightingmalaria.org/issues.aspx?issue=14
Also check out our new video and support AFM’s fight against malaria! http://fightingmalaria.org/AFMInAction/