Advertisement
AJPH
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

AJPH First Look, published online ahead of print Sep 17, 2008
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
AJPH.2007.122523v1
98/11/1940    most recent
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow purchase articles
Right arrow View Shopping Cart
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Author home page(s):
Patrick T. OShaughnessy
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Right arrow Get other permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by OShaughnessy, P. T.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by OShaughnessy, P. T.
©
American Journal of Public Health, 10.2105/AJPH.2007.122523

Public Health Then and Now

Parachuting Cats and Crushed Eggs: The Controversy Over the Use of DDT to Control Malaria

Patrick T. OShaughnessy 1*

1 The University of Iowa

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: patrick-oshaughnessy{at}uiowa.edu.


  Abstract

The use of DDT to control malaria has been a contentious practice for decades. This controversy centers on concerns over the ecological harm caused by DDT relative to the gains in public health from its use to prevent malaria. Given the World Health Organization’s recent policy decisions concerning the use of DDT to control malaria, it is worth reviewing the historical context of DDT use. Ecological concerns focused on evidence that DDT ingestion by predatory birds resulted in eggs with shells so thin they were crushed by adult birds. In addition, DDT spraying to control malaria allegedly resulted in cats being poisoned in some areas, which led to increased rodent populations and, in turn, the parachuting of cats into the highlands of the island of Borneo to kill the rodents, a story that influenced the decision to ban DDT spraying. I focus on this story with the intention of grounding the current debate on lessons from the past.

Key Words: Environment, Global Health, History, Public Health Practice




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 AJPHHome page
H. H. Chen and A. L-T Chen
INDOOR RESIDUAL SPRAYING OF DDT FOR MALARIA CONTROL
Am J Public Health, August 1, 2009; 99(8): 1350 - 1351.
[Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH
Copyright © 2008 by the American Public Health Association