Two recent articles in EHP (1,2) and the latest Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry toxicologic profile for DDT (3) make repeated references to DDT risks. These statements of risk, like so many others, are one-sided and give no consideration to colossal increases in diseases previously controlled with DDT. Behind disease statistics are grievous human tragedies, as with the case of ...

Using gas chromatography—electron capture detector protocol, pesticide residue levels on four common vegetables (cabbage, carrot, lettuce, and tomatoes) consumed in Ho Municipal, Ghana, were investigated. A total of 5 kg each the randomly sampled triplicate from three different markets. Organochlorine pesticides, including residues γ-HCH, δ-HCH, heptachlor, aldrin, p, p’-DDT, o, p’-DDT p’-DDE d...

The dehydrochlorination of 1 , 1 , I-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane to its nontoxic, ethylenic analogue, DDE,* by extracts of DDT-resistant houseflies (1Musca domestica) was first demonstrated by Sternburg et al. (I). It was shown that this system was GSH-dependent and that no DDT dehydrochlorinase could be detected in DDT-susceptible flies by the means then available. The titer of DDT...

INTRODUCTION Prenatal exposure to some pesticides can adversely affect male reproductive health in animals. We investigated a possible human association between maternal exposure to 27 organochlorine compounds used as pesticides and cryptorchidism among male children. DESIGN Within a prospective birth cohort, we performed a case-control study; 62 milk samples from mothers of cryptorchid boys ...

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is still used in certain areas of tropics and subtropics to control malaria and other insect-transmitted diseases. DDT and its metabolites have been extensively studied for their toxicity and carcinogenicity in animals and humans and shown to have an endocrine disrupting potential affecting reproductive system although the effects may vary among animal spec...

Aedes albopictus collected from urban districts of China (12 strains) has developed high levels of DDT resistance, while 2 strains collected from rural areas remain susceptible. The mechanism of DDT resistance was due to intensified activity of DDT-dehydrochlorinase, but the penetration of DDT into the mosquito body is also different. This may possibly have had some influence on the resistance ...

Understanding the evolution and spread of insecticide resistance requires knowing the relative fitness of resistant organisms. In the absence of insecticides, resistance is predicted to be costly. The Drosophila melanogaster DDT resistance allele (DDT-R) is associated with a male mating cost. This could be because resistant males are generally smaller, but DDT-R may also alter courtship behavio...

We investigated presence and levels of DDT in 163 breast milk samples from four South African villages where, in three of them, malaria is controlled with DDT-sprayed indoors. Mean ΣDDT levels in breast milk were 18, 11, and 9.5 mg/kg mf (milk fat) from the three DDT-sprayed villages, respectively, including the highest ΣDDT level ever reported for breast milk from South Africa (140 mg/kg mf). ...

This study reports on intersex in Oreochromis mossambicus, an indigenous fish species inhabiting most aquatic systems throughout South Africa (SA). Male fish were collected from three sites in the Luvuvhu River, Limpopo Province, SA: Albasini Dam (AD), Nandoni Dam (ND), and Xikundu Weir (XW). The latter two sites are situated in a currently dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) sprayed area. ...

A method for the determination of six organochlorine pesticides in human serum is proposed. Serum samples containing in vitro spiked pesticides (alpha-HCH, beta-HCH, gamma-HCH, p,p'-DDE, o,p'-DDT, and p,p'-DDT) were used to evaluate the method. The method involved pesticide extraction from a serum-silica suspension with n-hexane-acetone (9:1), extract purification using alumina-column chromatog...