--- In [email protected], "shempmcgurk" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > You're wasting your breath, Bob, telling people on this forum about > the plight of poor people dying from malaria. > > One of the people responsible for 10s of millions of those deaths -- > Rachel Carson -- is a hero to many on this forum. > >
*********** The elimination of DDT is not very consequential in the malaria story, because the rapid turnover of generations of mosquitoes ensures that selection for resistance to DDT happens quickly (there are always a few outliers in the mosquito population who have some resistance to DDT): http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2005/july/ddtinsects.htm > > > --- In [email protected], bob_brigante <no_reply@> > wrote: > > > > http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0707/feature1/ > > > > "We live on a malarious planet. It may not seem that way from the > > vantage point of a wealthy country, where malaria is sometimes > > thought of, if it is thought of at all, as a problem that has > mostly > > been solved, like smallpox or polio. In truth, malaria now affects > > more people than ever before. It's endemic to 106 nations, > > threatening half the world's population. In recent years, the > > parasite has grown so entrenched and has developed resistance to so > > many drugs that the most potent strains can scarcely be controlled. > > This year malaria will strike up to a half billion people. At least > a > > million will die, most of them under age five, the vast majority > > living in Africa. That's more than twice the annual toll a > generation > > ago. > > > > The outcry over this epidemic, until recently, has been muted. > > Malaria is a plague of the poor, easy to overlook. The most > > unfortunate fact about malaria, some researchers believe, is that > > prosperous nations got rid of it. In the meantime, several > distinctly > > unprosperous regions have reached the brink of total malarial > > collapse, virtually ruled by swarms of buzzing, flying syringes.... > > > > To witness the full force of malaria's stranglehold on Zambia, it's > > essential to leave the capital city, Lusaka. Drive north, across > the > > verdant plains, past the banana plantations and the copper mines— > > copper is Zambia's primary export—and into the forested region > tucked > > between the borders of Angola and the Democratic Republic of the > > Congo. This is the North-Western Province. It is almost entirely > > rural; many villages can be reached only by thin footpaths worn > into > > the beet-red soil. A nationwide health survey in 2005 concluded > that > > for every thousand children under age five living in the North- > > Western Province, there were 1,353 cases of malaria. An annual rate > > of more than 100 percent seems impossible, a typo. It is not. What > it > > means is that many children are infected with malaria more than > once > > a year. > > >
