Mosquito
EU’s “precaution” on DDT threatens lives of millions of Africans, says health charity
IPN Press release
Economic solution to scourge of malaria
IPN Opinion article
Moreover, when studying climate and vector-borne disease transmission, you must consider the past few thousand years. Dr Paul Reiter of the Pasteur Institute in Paris points out in a new book Adapt or Die: the Science, Politics and Economics of Climate Change, edited by Kendra Okonski that in the past 2000 years, malaria thrived during temperature extremes. During the dark ages (from 750 to 1100 AD) temperatures were so low that the Nile froze and ice floated in the Adriatic Sea. During the Middle Ages, temperatures rose, so much so that Greenland became suitable for agriculture and England became a wine producing region. Yet all the while the transmission of malaria and other vector-borne diseases continued.
Mosquito bites the economy
IPN Opinion article
Never mind that the country hasn't seen the monsoon in its full fury this year. That's not going to take the sting out of the anopheles mosquito, as its dreaded bite injects the malaria parasite into bloodstreams across the country. The first reports of malarial deaths have already started trickling in.
The deaths in themselves are tragic since it is now 50 years since India declared war on malaria. Now, a study by a Delhi-based think-tank, Liberty Institute, suggests that malaria is draining the economy by as much as Rs 1,692 crore a year.
Tying up malaria control in Indian Red Tape
IPN Opinion article
Over 100 years ago, while working in India, Dr. Ronald Ross was the first to discover that the Anopheles mosquito transmitted the malaria parasite to humans. Ever since vector, or mosquito, control, has been a cornerstone of any successful anti-malaria programme. Despite the importance of Dr. Ross's discovery India has been unable to eradicate the disease, largely because of its cumbersome and unaccountable bureaucracy.
DDT Saves Lives
IPN Opinion article
"Recent floods [in Zimbabwe] have brought a new peril: Malarial mosquitoes are breeding out of control in the dissipated floodwaters, spreading this potentially fatal disease to tens of thousands. It is tacitly assumed by the worlds media that malaria was the inevitable result of flooding and that the gallant and under-funded Mozambican government is doing all it can to alleviate the problem. But the truth is that certain officials are blocking the use of the chemical -- the pesticide DDT -- that can best help prevent the spread of this deadly killer disease. They are blocking it for several reasons, but chiefly out of an absurd sense of pride and possibly personal financial gain, which is a shame."
