Mallard ducks were fed diets containing various levels of technical DDT or chemically pure p,p'-DDT, or dieldrin. Either technical DDT or p,p'-DDT at 20 ppm or greater, or dieldrin at I 0 ppm caused a statistically significant reduction in e9gshell thickness, weight, and calcium. Shells of eggs from ducks fed 40 ppm of p,p -DDT were about 20% thinner than those from control ducks, and shells of...

BACKGROUND Indoor residual spraying (IRS) of DDT is used to control visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in India. However, the quality of spraying is severely compromised by a lack of affordable field assays to monitor target doses of insecticide. Our aim was to develop a simple DDT insecticide quantification kit (IQK) for monitoring DDT levels in an operational setting. METHODOLOGY/ PRINCIPLE FINDIN...

The transfer of p,p'-DDT (1,1,1-tricholoro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane) and its metabolites to infants via breast-feeding was studied in an area of KwaZulu, South Africa, where DDT is used to interrupt malaria transmission. Samples of whole blood were collected from 23 infants, together with samples of breast milk from their respective mothers. The mean sigma DDT (total DDT) in the whole bloo...

BACKGROUND Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) was used extensively to control malaria, typhus, body lice, and bubonic plague worldwide, until countries began restricting its use in the 1970s. However, the use of DDT to control vector-borne diseases continues in developing countries. Prenatal DDT exposure is associated with elevated blood pressure in humans. OBJECTIVE We hypothesized that p...

Background: The organochlorine DDT has estrogenic activity but the mechanism underlying the estrogenic activity of this pesticide remains unclear. In the present investigation here, we studied the transcriptional effects of a synthetic organochlorine pesticide o,p’-DDT [1.1.1.-trichloro-2-(o-chlorophenyl)-2-p-chloriphenyl ethane] and its metabolite p,p'-DDE (2-2-bis(4/chlorophenyl)-1-1-di...

The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants granted a controversial exemption for some countries to continue using DDT. DDT has a history of use in malaria control, but widespread concern about health risks led to declining use. A science-based policy analysis of existing published literature was conducted to consider DDT toxicology and malaria risk in South Africa to generate dat...

BACKGROUND Basic health indicators, such as body mass index (BMI), have been associated with serum 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane/1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethylene (DDT/DDE) levels; however, both positive and inverse associations of BMI with serum DDT/DDE have been reported. Given the association of BMI with a number of outcomes, it may confound studies of DDT/DDE-asso...

BACKGROUND Few studies have examined predictors of DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) and DDE (dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene) levels among residents in homes sprayed with DDT for malaria control with the aim of identifying exposure-reduction strategies. METHODS The present analysis included 381 women enrolled in the Study of Women and Babies (SOWB) during 2010-2011, from eight South Afr...