Assessment and Conclusion Findings from the World Health Organization and the International Programme on Chemical Safety suggest that DDT exposure is proven to have detrimental effects on living things especially on human beings and animals. The main targets of the DDT toxins are the nervous system and the liver. Endocrine disruption which is an immune system malfunction is another ailment caused by this chemical. DDT exposure also caused cancer particularly breast cancer among women who were exposed to these chemicals during the Second World War.
Birth defects were also associated with increased exposure to DDT during pregnancy. Weighing the benefits and risks of DDT, this paper believes that the risks brought by too much concentration of this chemical on the environment has outweighed its potentials in preventing the spread of malaria. Reports from the World Health Organization show that malaria is the major cause of millions of deaths in the world particularly in Africa. The use of DDT during the Second World War may have prevented the worst case scenario.
On the other hand, too much of it resulted also to long term ailments and even deaths on affected individuals. The World Health Organization is intervening in the control of malaria outbreaks through authorizing the usage of DDT on insecticides in regulation. Last 2006, it endorsed the indoor residual spraying (IRS) on epidemic areas and also throughout the African region. This kind of regulatory procedure is better on limiting the concentrations of DDT on the environment and at the same time continuing the combat to eliminate malaria.
This paper recommends organizing further research on ways to eradicate malaria without the use of harmful chemicals like DDT. Education of people regarding health and sanitation is another way of controlling the population of mosquitoes. Also health institutions and the government must continue to provide sufficient supplies of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLIN) and access to treatments like artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT).
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