Study Shows That Use of DDT for Malaria Control Is Effective, Editorial Says

A study recently published in PLoS One provides further evidence that the World Health Organization's decision to endorse the use of the pesticide DDT for malaria control was "long overdue," a Wall Street Journal editorial says. Although a "half billion people are infected and more than a million" die from malaria annually in parts of South America, Asia and Africa, "radical environmental groups" still oppose the use of DDT, the editorial says, adding that one of "their favorite arguments" is that "mosquitoes can build resistance" to DDT's toxic properties. However, results from the PLoS One study show that such a "concern is misplaced," and "[r]epeated studies have shown DDT to be safe for people and nature when sprayed indoors," according to the editorial. The latest research also shows that DDT is more effective than other "supposedly greener pesticides" and that DDT is among the cheapest, the editorial says, concluding that "[o]pponents of DDT are only ensuring more misery and death" (Wall Street Journal, 8/16).