DDT Alternatives in Mexico

Public health experts in Mexico, along with the nation's Malaria Control Program (MCP), are searching for new ways to fight malaria without using DDT. A multi-disciplinary team funded by the International Development Research Center (IDRC) is looking at ways to manage the local environment to reduce the incidence and spread of malaria. The team is focusing on the State of Oaxaca which is the main site of malaria outbreaks in Mexico. "We're looking at malaria from many different angles including the molecular biology of the vector and the parasite, community perceptions of malaria, statistical analyses, and a geographic information system (GIS)-based surveillance system,” says Juan Hernandez, Director of Informatics at the National Institute of Public Health. The MCP's long-term goal is to prevent future outbreaks of malaria, without harming the local environment. DDT has been the main tool used in fighting malaria but since it is dangerous to the environment, the MCP has decided against using it. The research team used geographic information system (GIS) tools to analyze different areas in Oaxaca in terms of malaria incidence and frequency, elevation, climate, hydrology, distance to rivers and roads, and short-range human movements. The team found that cases of malaria occurred more frequently in areas with closely clustered villages and in places where health facilities are scarce. The researchers are now focusing on humans as the main vector. A vector is an organism that carries a disease-causing microorganism from one host to another. The researchers have found that mosquitoes merely introduce the disease into the population but without the availability of medical treatment the people with the disease cause it to spread. The MCP is also working on an algae removal strategy, the purpose of which is to reduce the number of disease carrying mosquitoes in the area; they are giving people who have had malaria before malaria medicine to prevent them from relapsing; and they are working on rapid diagnosis of people showing symptoms of malaria to get them treatment more quickly. The rapid diagnosis approach is currently being evaluated in 20 different areas. The new malaria control strategies are working well, between 1998 and 2001 the number of malaria cases had fallen sharply.