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Anti-malaria pesticide affects male fertility
Tony Carnie, The Mercury
2007-04-13

South African medical researchers have reported alarming evidence of low sperm counts and other damage to the male reproductive system linked to the use of the pesticide DDT in anti-malaria spray campaigns.

The research, which involved more than 300 young men in Limpopo province, has also raised concerns about reproductive health problems in men in other rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga provinces where DDT is still used despite an international treaty that recommends a worldwide ban on the pesticide.

The study, published in the international peer-reviewed Journal of Andrology, was one of the largest studies in this country to examine the effects of DDT exposure.

Professor Tiaan de Jager, project leader and co-author of the study, told The Mercury on Wednesday that there was now sufficient evidence for the department of health to be concerned about the health impacts of DDT and to consider moving towards safer alternative methods for malaria control.

The study was funded by the National Research Foundation and the Medical Research Council.

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