PARACHUTING CATS AND CRUSHED EGGS.

POLLUTION; DDT (Insecticide); MALARIA prevention; VECTOR control; WORLD Health Organization; PUBLIC health; STOCKHOLM Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (2001); PREVENTION of communicable diseases; MOSQUITO control; ECOLOGICAL impact

The article focuses on the controversy over the use of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) to control malaria. This controversy is based on concerns over the ecological damage caused by DDT relative to the gains in public health from its use. The World Health Organization (WHO) in September 2006 issued a statement that recommended wider use of DDT through indoor residual spraying to reduce the prevalence of malaria. While giving reasons, WHO cited DDT's potential to substantially reduce malaria because of its low cost and ability to kill mosquitoes. Despite its September 2006 recommendation, WHO in April 2007 affirmed its commitment to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, which aimed to reduce and ultimately eliminate the use of DDT for vector control.