2001-11-27 究竟是瘧疾還是殺蟲劑DDT的危害比較小？前者在非洲每年導致100萬人（許多為嬰兒與小孩）喪命；後者則是用以對付這種惡性疾病最有效的武器，但是它對魚和野生動植物來說是致命的，也被認為對人體有害。兩年前，南非選擇用DDT對抗瘧疾，一位政府官員稱這項決定為「恐怖的抉擇」；如所預期的，感染率和死亡率逐漸下降了。鄰國莫三比克則刻意避開使用DDT，因為擔心洪水會促使有毒化學物質的擴散，反而造成更嚴重的衛生問題。截至目前為止，瘧疾仍然是莫三比克嚴重的兒童死亡原因。

全文與圖片詳見: http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/
daily/daily112701.asp

版權歸屬Earth Day Network，環境資訊協會 (李瑞玉 譯，李欣哲 審校)

中英對照譯稿請見：http://e-info.org.tw/2001/11/1130/
edn01112701.htm

Which is the lesser of two evils -- malaria or DDT? The former kills a million people per year in Africa, many of them infants and children; the latter is the most effective weapon against the virulent disease, but is lethal to fish and wildlife, and thought to be hazardous to humans as well. Two years ago, South Africa opted to fight malaria with DDT -- a decision one government official called "a horrible choice" -- and infections and fatalities are dropping. Neighboring Mozambique has eschewed DDT, fearing that floods such as those that recently devastated the country could spread the toxic chemical and create worse health problems than the one it is meant to control. In the meantime, though, malaria remains the nation's leading cause of death for children.

http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/
daily/daily112701.asp