DDT and resistance

Factual Questions
1

Hello,

Looking around various sites I see repeated references that the banning of DDT was a crime against humanity, causing 30+ million deaths.

Ignoring everything else, these commentators seem to think that DDT would be effective forever. Antibotics were also meant to last, but now there are plenty of resistant strains of bacteria now floating around. Wouldn’t this also happen to DDT as eventually insects would evolve resistance to it, and it would become useless like early antibiotics?

The first link I found on the topic was this. It echoes my thoughts too, saying that DDT had become less effective as time passed.

Counterproof? From a neutral source, not from either activist side.

2

And to ward off off-topic flames, I do not want questions about whether or not DDT was responsible for wildlife damage. I just want information about resistance, and whether it truly did decrease in effectiveness as the quote says in the 40s.

3

I think yes. My Msc was on the (chemical) dehydrochlorination of DDT. Insects had an enzyme that did a similar reaction which deactivated it. The levels of this enzyme dramatically increased in sprayed areas and insects were becoming resistant see http://info-pollution.com/ddtban.htm