Remediation and Ethics
The range of malaria used to be much larger. Extensive campaigns to eradicate the disease, however, have resulted in the disease’s confinement to developing countries. Due to the complex nature of malaria, ending the scourge of malaria will need to be accomplished in several different ways.
Malaria is generally curable in those affected, but limited access to medicines leaves the world’s poor shutout. Killing the parasite Plasmodium would end the cycle of transmission, as would eliminating the mosquito that transmits the parasite. In spite of millions of people contracting and dying from this disease, major drug companies don’t see enough return on their money and so do not invest in malaria research.
Many species of the Anopheles mosquito are more active at night, and sleeping people are more vulnerable to being bitten. Nets covering beds are one very effective way to prevent transmission and millions of nets have been distributed around the world. Even the NBA got in on the act, joining with the United Nations in a campaign called Nothing But Nets - helping to collect and distribute bed nets in Africa.17
DDT has been banned in the United States since 1972, due to the persistence of the molecule in the environment and the bioaccumulation in numerous species. Examples such as the Brown Pelican, Bald Eagle and Peregrine Falcon are three bird species hard hit due to the effects DDT had on reproduction. The chemical led to thinner egg shells resulting in eggs being crushed under incubating parents.
The connection to this unit is that DDT is still one of the most effective pesticides to kill mosquitos. While it is not being sprayed over larger areas, it is still in use inside households where it provides long-term protection. Is this truly safe?
Yet as mentioned before eradication has and can be done. What responsibility, if any, does the developed world have to help eliminate this disease?
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