WHO Releases Guidelines Endorsing Use of DDT To Control Malaria
The World Health Organization on Friday announced new guidelines supporting indoor insecticide spraying using the chemical DDT to control malaria in areas with the highest risk, the Wall Street Journal reports. Although DDT is on WHO's list for approved chemical spraying, the agency previously had not "strongly endorsed its use," according to the Journal. The technique supported by WHO involves using a lower amount of DDT than the amount countries used years ago, but it is still likely to encounter criticism by some who say it is harmful to humans and animals, the Journal reports (McKay, Wall Street Journal, 9/15). WHO also urged countries with malaria control programs to establish clear policies on indoor insecticide spraying using DDT and specify exactly where and how the spraying will be conducted to comply with WHO guidelines, as well as how the countries will support and manage the spraying. Richard Tren, director of Africa Fighting Malaria, urged countries and international organizations to act in accordance with WHO guidelines on the use of DDT and said donors need to provide support for indoor insecticide spraying efforts (WHO release, 9/15). It is not known which countries have agreed to test the guidelines and increase spraying with DDT and other pesticides, but WHO officials have been in talks with India, Indonesia, Sudan and Yemen about the guidelines, according to people familiar with the situation, the Journal reports (Wall Street Journal, 9/15).
More Details
According to Anarfi Asamoa-Baah, WHO's assistant director-general for HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, indoor insecticide spraying "is useful to quickly reduce the number of infections caused by malaria-carrying mosquitoes," adding that the strategy "has been proven to be just as effective as other malaria prevention measures, and DDT poses no health risk when used properly." Arata Kochi, head of WHO's Malaria Department, said, "Of the dozen insecticides WHO has approved as safe for house spraying, the most effective is DDT" (WHO release, 9/15). The guidelines likely will increase the number of countries using DDT to control malaria, according to the AP/San Jose Mercury News (Neergaard, AP/San Jose Mercury News, 9/15). U.S. Malaria Coordinator R. Timothy Ziemer said he expects that many countries under the President's Malaria Initiative -- a $1.2 billion, five-year initiative that aims to reduce by half the number of malaria-related deaths in 15 African countries -- will use DDT for indoor insecticide spraying (WHO release, 9/15).
Reaction
Jon Liden, a spokesperson for the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, said, "The Global Fund ... is ready to finance increased use of the strategy if affected countries request it" (Wall Street Journal, 9/15). Amir Attaran, an associate professor of population health at the University of Ottawa, said the new guidelines are "a big change," adding that research is needed to ensure that use of insecticides and DDT is not "in a willy-nilly way but in an optimal way in the right places" (AP/San Jose Mercury News, 9/15). Jay Feldman, executive director of the environmental advocacy group Beyond Pesticides, said expanding the use of DDT is "shortsighted and doesn't recognize the long-term problems and hazards," adding that officials instead should concentrate on eliminating mosquito breeding grounds, including stagnant water (Wall Street Journal, 9/15). Feldman said unless the underlying causes of pest problems are addressed, countries will continue to be dependent on DDT and other pesticides. "Given the well-documented adverse health effects associated with DDT's toxic properties and its persistence, the international community has a social responsibility to reject the use of this chemical and practice sound and safe pest management practices at the community level that prevent insect-borne disease like malaria," Feldman said (Beyond Pesticides release, 9/15).
