[afro-nets] Objections to DDT Use for Malaria Control

[Mizan Siddiqi <msiddiqi@voxiva.net>]

Objections to DDT Use for Malaria Control Might Be Commercially Moti-
vated - AFM Director Says
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September 29, 2005

Commercial interests might be driving the pharmaceutical indus-
try and some international organizations to object to the use of
the pesticide DDT for malaria control and prevention,
http://www.fightingmalaria.org/index.php Africa Fighting Malaria
Director Richard Tren told the http://epw.senate.gov/ Senate En-
vironment and Public Works Committee on Wednesday, the
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/0566ec34-3085-11da-ba9f-00000e2511c8.html
Financial Times reports. Some developing countries with high
burdens of malaria, such as Uganda, recently have considered im-
plementing indoor DDT spraying to reduce the number of mosqui-
toes that carry malaria. However, these countries face opposi-
tion from some groups, such as the http://www.who.int/ World
Health Organization, which advocates the use of insecticide-
treated nets to prevent the spread of malaria, according to the
Times. In addition, the http://europa.eu.int/ European Union
earlier this year issued a warning to Uganda that its produce
and flora exports to EU nations might suffer if the country im-
plements a malaria control strategy employing DDT.

Senate Testimony

During his testimony, Tren said that objections to DDT might be
motivated by commercial interests and cited an e-mail from
Gerhard Hesse, a board member of the http://www.rbm.who.int/
Roll Back Malaria partnership and vector control manager for
German pharmaceutical company http://www.bayer.com/ Bayer. Ac-
cording to the Times, Hesse in his e-mail said that Bayer --
which manufactures alternative pesticides that are generally
more expensive than DDT -- would fully support an EU ban on ag-
ricultural imports from countries that use the pesticide because
of the possibility that the imports would contain DDT residue.
The e-mail also said that although "DDT use is for us a commer-
cial threat," it is "mainly a public image threat," the Times
reports. Tren told the Senate committee that AFM is concerned
that "commercial entities such as Bayer... are using bad science
and fear about DDT in order to advance their own particular in-
terests." However, Bayer in a statement said Hesse intended to
refer only to spraying DDT on agricultural products. "Gerhard
Hesse's statement in this respect was written in a way which
might lead to wrong conclusions," the statement said, adding
that Bayer "rejects any interpretation" that it would support
the EU ban "for company-specific competitive reasons" (Beattie,
Financial Times, 9/29).

Mizan Siddiqi
mailto:msiddiqi@voxiva.net

Cross Posted from Global Health Report (KFF)