Rachel Carson was the author of Silent Springs. This book brought forth the idea that uncontrolled and unexamined pesticides, such as DDT, were causing millions of animals and humans to die. It began an initiative to change public policy and human behavior in order to prevent pesticides from polluting the environment. Rachel Carson’s book was successful in advocating for the environment, and as a result, in 1972, the use of DDT was ban in the United States. While she was busy advocating for the environment, she was also creating a public concern for DDT which would indirectly cause the suffering and death of millions of defenseless people in Africa, due to malaria.
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, also known as DDT, was first used in World War II to protect troops from vector-born diseases, such as malaria. DDT is a pesticide that plays a vital role in controlling the biological vector, a mosquito, which is responsible for the transmission of malaria. Malaria is an infectious disease caused by parasites called sporozoites. Malaria is spread from human to human through the bit of a mosquito caring sporozoites. Once a human has been bitten by the infected mosquito, the sporozoites travel to the liver and mature into merozoites which then enter the bloodstream and infect red blood cells. Malaria can cause destruction of blood cells, liver failure, kidney failure, respiratory failure, and massive internal bleeding form the spleen rupturing.
Malaria is a major health problem in tropical and subtropical climates, and Africa is disproportionately affected by the morbidity and mortality caused by malaria. The CDC estimates that there are 300-500 million cases of malaria each year and of those 1 million people die. The WHO is trying to decrease the use of DDT in anti-malaria efforts; however, after other countries in Africa stopped using DDT, South Africa experienced an increase in the prevalence of malaria. Furthermore, in 1996, other forms of insecticides, besides DDT, were used to decrease the mosquitoes in Africa, but it caused the incidence of malaria to increase.
Chemical pesticides such as DDT can cause environmental problems, but they can also do more good than harm. Before Rachel Carson’s book led to the ban of DDT usage for controlling mosquitoes, DDT was preventing many people from contracting mosquito-born infectious diseases. Many efforts have been made to prevent and treat malaria, such as distributing sleeping nets and developing of new drugs, but none have been as effective as DDT. DDT was vital in reducing malaria by controlling the vector that was causing transmission of the disease. It was a prevention effort that was aimed at decreasing the source of the problem. Malaria will never be eliminated by only treating those infected. The source that is transmitting the disease must be controlled as a prevention method. We did not eradicate smallpox by only treating the diseased; we developed a vaccination for prevention of the disease. For that reason, without the use of DDT, millions may continue to suffer and die from malaria, in Africa, each year. Although Rachel Carson was trying to raise awareness about pesticides and environmental pollution, there were significant negative unintended consequences for her efforts to eliminate the use of DDT.
Roberts, Donald R.; Laughlin, LL; Hsheih, P; Legters, LJ (1997). DDT, global strategies, and a malaria control crisis in South America". Emerging Infectious Diseases, 3(3), 295–302. doi:10.3201/eid0303.970305
