When Politics Kills: Malaria and the DDT Story, Research Paper Example

The article, When Politics Kills: Malaria and the DDT Story (Okanski), is adapted from the paper, “When Politics Kills: Malaria and the DDT Story” in which was published in 2001 by Tren and Bate.  The current article summarizes the Malaria incidence in Africa and its measures of prevention, as well as control, of mosquitos carrying the malaria virus.  The article summarizes what Malaria is and the number of people it is affecting.  The article also describes DDTs one of the most effective measures in reducing the number of mosquitos.  The article even goes as far to state that environmentalists and politicians came close to banning DDT, which according to the author, is an important weapon against malaria.  The article fails to mention the detrimental effects that DDTs have proven to cause in prenatal women and children.  In fact, there has been research illustrating a significant correlation between DDT levels and children’s mental development, as well as maternal exposure to DDT mental scores in children. (Greensfelder)

The author touches on the fact that Malaria has killed numerous people, including children, but the author fails to include the research that has proven DDTs to be harmful to living organisms, including humans.  The author supports the use of DDTs in Africa because they state that it is cheap and effective and for African countries, the only realistic method.  The author including this information may persuade some individuals to think that the effects of DDTs are not as detrimental as Malaria, and if Africa can only afford to implement pesticides, then they should.  However, the author fails to go in depth on other alternatives that are available for the prevention of Malaria, like anti-viral drugs.  The CDC recommends numerous drugs that are available to travelers entering countries with high Malaria incidences. (CDC)

Overall, the article is mediocre. The article is meant to persuade the lay person who is not too familiar with the Malaria issue and does not have the scientific or political background regarding the use of DDTs.  There are numerous errors in grammar and significant research from credible sources is lacking.

Works Cited

CDC. Malaria. Web. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/travelers/drugs.html

EPA. DDT – A Brief History and Status. 2012. Web. Retrieved from: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/chemicals/ddt-brief-history-status.htm

Greensfelder, L.  DDT in moms harmful to kids, study suggests.  2006.  UC Berkeley News. Web. Retrieved from: http://berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2006/07/05_ddt.shtml

Okanski, K.  When Politics Kills: Malaria and the DDT Story. 2001. Web. Retrieved from: http://cei.org/studies-point/when-politics-kills-malaria-and-ddt-story.

Tren, R. and Bate, R. When Politics Kills. Malaria and the DDT Story.  2001.  Retrieved from: www.cei.org/studies-point/when-politics-kills-malaria-and-ddt-story