Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) of DDT Is Associated With Urogenital Birth Defects in Neonates

South Africa and the drought that exposed a young democracy

“…While state capture has been taking place, a number of important technical issues have remained invisible from media scrutiny. The first part of this narrative is driven by the emerging suspicion of science as a western machination, most aptly manifested by Mbeki's AIDS denialism (Natrass, 2010), and the dogged determination by the ANC to ignore global evidence regarding human health risks to DDT exposure (Bornman et al, 2005(Bornman et al, , 2008(Bornman et al, , 2009Aneck-Hahn et al, 2007;Cone, 2009). The general disrespect for science is starkly illustrated in the water sector by the number of gauging stations that have been functional over time.…”

“…The outcome of the Mbeki-era's short-sighted policy approach driven by science scepticism is now manifesting as a significant loss of human lives, as people living with AIDS were unnecessarily denied access to anti-retroviral medication. Sadly, it is also manifesting as a cohort of children born with urogenital defects (Bornman et al, 2005(Bornman et al, , 2008(Bornman et al, , 2009) and men with impaired semen quality (Aneck-Hahn et al, 2007) due to the reintroduction of DDT (Cone, 2009). This science scepticism has merely been accelerated by the Zuma regime.…”