DDT has always been available anywhere in the world except the US and Western Europe. It is very rarely used anymore because it's not effective, most target insects developed resistance pretty quickly.
Birds, on the other hand, have not developed any, and DDT in fish eating birds has dropped back to near pre-DDT levels. The malaria problem is mostly due to resistance of the malaria parasite to the commonly used drugs -- it was nearly eliminated as a human problem in the 70's, but the funding was eliminated for the eradication programs (free drugs, community policing to eliminate breeding sites for the mosquito, etc.( during the Reagan administration. Malaria is carried by a mosquito that requires still, stagnant water in shallow containers for reproduction, if you eliminate all the shallow stagnant water pools, you eliminate the mosquito and hence the malaria. In other words, eliminate poverty and ignorance, and malaria goes away.... DDT isn't a magical mosquito killer, contrary to modern internet myth, but it IS a very powerful neurotoxin. The breakdown products are still rather nasty, and it persists in the environment essentially forever if protected from UV light. Exposure to DDT in a form that penetrates the skin causes severe, permanent neurological damage, and all neurotoxins cause abnormal brain development in embryos (think autism, eh?). It also is fat soluble, not water soluble, so accumulates in body fat -- nearly all that is ingested stays in the body fat of that organism, and can get released at high levels if that fat is ever metabolized. This is what did the fish eating birds in, they accumulated large amounts, then when raising young the blood levels of DDT shot up and messed up calcium deposition in eggshells. Thin or missing shells results in failed reproduction in birds...... Remember that there is no content filter built into the internet, and there are plenty of people who will lie for personal gain...... _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
